Kaien's Fate, Aizen's Experiment and Ichigo's Sister
by SeerKing
Summary: Shiba Kaien died at the hand of Kuchiki Rukia after being possessed by a Hollow. This is well known. What if Aizen drew Metastacia from Hueco Mundo and extracted some reiatsu belonging to Kaien for another experiment? This is the tale of the result of that experiment; Kurosaki Kirika.
1. Metastacia and the Experiment

**Author's Note: While this line of story has been done before, I thought I should give it a go.**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

"Rukia" - Regular Speech

'_Ichigo_' - Thoughts

_*Kaien-dono*_ - Zanpakutō speech/thoughts

"_**Bankai!**_" - Spiritual Technique

**Chapter 1: ****Metastacia and the Experiment**

_Somewhere in the Rukongai_

The trees in the Rukongai trembled as three Soul Reapers ran through them. The obvious leader of the three was a tall, lanky man with white hair and a white _haori_, indicative of his rank in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Flanking him on his right was a tall man with spiky black hair. His face, which seemed to be more accustomed to smiling than frowning, had an icy expression of rage upon it. The badge of a Lieutenant rested on his left arm.

The final member of the trio was a petite female with raven-coloured hair that was cut short, a single stand crossing her face diagonally. Her violet eyes flicked between the terrain that lay before her and the black-haired Lieutenant at her side, worry and concern written all over her face.

The spiritual pressure of a hollow made the three halt at once, their hands resting on the hilts of their blades warily.

"Be careful. If this Hollow was able to kill 3rd Seat Miyako, it is no ordinary Hollow." the Captain spoke in a soft but firm manner, directing most of the warning in his voice towards the Lieutenant, who ignored him in favour of glaring into the forest around him.

"Hai, Ukitake-taicho." the ravenette replied nervously, her hand tensing on the hilt of her zanpakutō as she spoke.

Ukitake flashed a gentle smile at her before sparing a concerned glance at his Lieutenant. Noting the rage still present on his subordinate's face, the white-haired man sighed and began to scan the forest himself.

'_Oh Kaien. I know Miyako's death and possession by this Hollow hurts, but please don't be too reckless._'

Kuchiki Rukia was still mentally reeling from the recent events. Shiba Miyako, Squad Thirteen's Third Seat and Lieutenant Shiba Kaien's wife, had been killed and possessed by a Hollow.

Rukia wanted to weep in loss and frustration. Miyako had been someone she looked up to as a shining example of what female Soul Reapers could accomplish. Strong, kind and inspirational, she had been everything that Rukia, a former Inuzuri-district brat, had aspired to be. Her admiration for the Third Seat was eclipsed only by her admiration for Kaien.

Shiba Kaien had almost single-handedly rebuilt Rukia's shattered self-confidence, when she had lost it after failing to warrant a Seated Position in Squad Thirteen. She owed him so much it wasn't even funny. So when she had seen him racing after the possessed body of his wife, she hadn't hesitated to follow him.

Her mind snapped out of its brooding when she spotted the remains of a Soul Reaper's Shihakushō (Garment of Dead Souls) on a tree branch.

"Kaien-dono, Ukitake-taicho!" Rukia hissed as she drew her blade, "Over here!"

Using the _**Hohō**_ technique _**Shunpo (Flash-Step)**_, the two men were at her side in an instant. Ukitake frowned as he saw the ragged robes. Kaen on the other hand walked over to the robes and hesitantly reached out to touch them.

Suddenly, his senses screamed at him to MOVE! Acting quickly, he _**Shunpo'd**_ out of the way just in time to avoid a trio of pink tentacles that lanced out of the nearby bushes and struck the ground where he had been standing not a moment ago. Kaien reappeared atop a large tree branch and was quickly joined by Ukitake and Rukia.

From their perch, the three Soul Reapers looked down and saw the true form of the hollow for the first time.

It was ugly, even for a Hollow. The body was moss green, with fur a lighter green growing from its shoulders. It was six-legged, unusual for a Hollow, but not entirely unheard of. The Hollow's Mask, on the other hand, was unusual. Vaguely resembling a warthog with four horns, it had orange flame-like patterns around its eyes.

The most prominent -and disgusting- feature of the Hollow was the nest of fleshy pink tentacles atop its back that twitched and writhed incessantly.

Rukia stepped forwards, her blade glinting in the moonlight.

"I'll attack first and attempt to scout out its abilities." she said, her voice justifiably tense. This Hollow had not only slain a squad of lower-ranked Soul Reapers, but someone with all the strength and skill of a Third Seat. Rukia, being an unseated member of Squad Thirteen, was in essence volunteering to do a kamikaze mission in order to allow Kaien and Ukitake to glean intelligence on the capabilities of the Hollow.

As she tensed to leap at the Hollow, Rukia was distracted by Kaien stepping forwards and speaking.

"Taicho." Kaien spoke, his voice trembling with barely-repressed anger, "I beg of you. I request permission to fight it alone."

"Kaien-dono?!" Rukia's head whipped around to regard her superior in shock. He surely hadn't asked what she thought he had just asked!?

"Very well." Ukitake replied quietly, making Rukia gape at him in shock as well.

The Hollow beneath them, evidently tired of waiting, started taunting Kaien, describing his wife's death in disgustingly accurate and gory detail. She had been eaten from the inside out, slowly and painfully.

Kaien responded by slowly drawing his sword and unleashing his _**Reiatsu**_ in a red aura of intimidation before he vanished in a _**Shunpo**_, reappearing crouched in front of the surprised Hollow.

Lopping off two of the Hollow's legs with a single cut, the Lieutenant then grabbed one of the Hollow's tentacles and squeezed it hard.

"_**Rankle the Sea and Heavens, Nejibana!**_" Kaien roared as he held his zanpakutō aloft while he glared at the murderer of his wife.

For just an instant, Nejibana glowed a light golden colour…then it dissolved into nothing, even the hilt vanished from Kaien's hand. The Lieutenant's eyes widened as he felt the link between Nejibana and the Asauchi, the blank blade used as a medium to manifest his zanpakutō, simply vanish and fade to nothing.

"What the…!" Kaien exclaimed in shock.

"**Hehehehe…you fell for it, boy."** the Hollow cackled **"Once a night, the first Soul Reaper to touch my tentacles is treated to the sight of their oh-so-precious Zanpakutō being destroyed!"**

The Hollow smashed a tentacle into Kaien's body, sending him flying across the small clearing with a grunt of pain.

'_Impossible! There has never been a single report -ever!- about a Hollow possessing such an ability!_' the Lieutenant thought as he staggered to his feet, '_Hell, I've never even heard of any _Soul Reaper_ being capable of such a thing!_'

"Kaien-dono!" Rukia yelled in horror. She began to raise her own zanpakutō in readiness to strike, but Captain Ukitake gently forced her arm down.

"C…Captain?!" Rukia gasped in shock. The reasons for her shock were twofold. The first was that he obviously didn't want her to interfere with the unfolding fight.

The second reason was that _he was touching her Zanpakutō!_ Even freshly-issued Asauchi in the Shinōreijutsuin (Spiritual Arts Academy) were regarded as being sacrosanct. No one -not even Head-Captain Yamamoto himself- was allowed to lay their hands on another person's Zanpakutō without its wielder's express permission, barring very serious criminal charges.

"Rukia-chan, we cannot interfere." Ukitake told her solemnly.

Rukia gaped at this. "Taicho, Kaien-dono has just had his Zanpakutō destroyed! He's been disarmed! If we don't interfere, that Hollow might kill him!" the petite ravenette argued with her captain, a note of desperation in her voice as she spoke.

"But what would become of Kaien's pride?" Ukitake countered softly, "Even if, somehow, you are able to intervene and save Kaien's life, his pride would _die_, Rukia-chan. It would be lost forever."

"That makes no sense!" Rukia almost yelled at her beloved captain in sheer frustration, "What good is pride to a dead man?!"

Ukitake's usually kind face was grim and serious. "For those of us who are warriors, there are two types of battles; battles to protect lives and battles to defend ones honour. Remember these words, Rukia-chan."

Rukia's face twisted in agony as Kaien was battered further by the tentacle strikes of his foe. He counterattacked with an _**Eishōhaki Hadō #31: Shakkahō (Incantation Abandonment Way of Destruction Number 31: Red Fire Cannon)**_ that the Hollow seemed to shrug off like a fleabite.

"Right now, Kaien is fighting with everything he is to defend his honour, the honour of his men who died and, above all," Ukitake continued grimly, "He is fighting to defend the honour of his beloved wife, Miyako."

Rukia flashed back to seeing Miyako-sama -no, Miyako-sama's _possessed body_- standing over the corpses of members of Squad Thirteen. She remembered the horrified realisation of what must have happened to Miyako-sama and felt again the desolation and rage she had first felt. She couldn't begin to guess how Kaien-dono had felt, seeing the same thing.

With obvious and visible reluctance, Rukia sheathed her blade and took her hand from the hilt of her zanpakutō.

Down on the ground, Kaien was panting hard. His head had a wound across it that was bleeding freely just above his right eye and his body was battered and bruised from all of the blunt-force attacks that the Hollow was dishing out with its tentacles.

In short, he was in trouble.

Even with all the disadvantages he was faced with, Kaien refused to call out to his two companions for aid against this monster. He wouldn't, _couldn't_, ask for help! Every cell of his body was burning with the desire to slay this Hollow by himself. And by Kami, he would rip the monster apart with his bare hands if need be!

"**So boy, are you too stubborn to ask your companions for help?"** the Hollow sneered at Kaien, **"Or is it that you are just too full of yourself?"**

"I…don't need…any help to…deal with scum…like you!" the Lieutenant panted out angrily.

"**Hehehe…is that a fact?"** the Hollow mocked him, **"Because now, little boy, I'm about to do unto you exactly what I did unto your delicious wife!"**

Kaien silently glared at the Negative Spirit in defiance.

With an almighty roar the Hollow launched _all_ of its tentacles at him with a speed previously unseen. Kaien tried to dodge, but they caught him, opening a hole in his arm and pouring themselves inside of him.

Once all the tentacles had entered Kaien's body, the shell of a body that was left behind by the Hollow crumbled and collapsed.

"Kaien…-dono?" Rukia called out. She was in shock. This _couldn't_ happen. Not to Kaien. Not to _him_.

"**Hehehehe…what is it…Ojou-chan?"** 'Kaien' asked as 'he' turned around to reveal the face of what had once been Shiba Kaien.

Ukitake and Rukia blanched in horror. Kaien's skin had turned the same colour as the Hollow's fur, a dark moss green. Kaien's eyes were now as black as pitch and were surrounded in the same flame-like pattern that the Hollow had possessed on its mask.

"Kaien-dono!" Rukia whispered in horror.

The thing that had once been the man she had admired so much lolled its tongue from its mouth and licked it across its face in a snake-like manner as it spoke.

"**What's the matter Ojou-chan? Why do you keep saying my name? Are you that worried about me?"** it asked, **"Or could it be…that you love me?!"**

The Hollow-possessed Kaien leapt up at her. Rukia was frozen, paralyzed with horror at what had become of Kaien.

"**If you love me that much, I should eat you first!"** it sneered mockingly at her as it reached out a hand to grab her.

In a blur of motion, Ukitake Jūshirō _**Shunpo'd**_ in front of Rukia and blocked the Hollow from grabbing Rukia with his drawn zanpakutō.

"T-Taicho!" Rukia gasped out.

"Rukia-chan…get out of here!" Ukitake said firmly as he held the Hollow at bay with his sword.

Rukia hesitated for a moment before turning and fleeing the scene, tears flowing down her cheeks as she did so.

A single question ran through her mind as she ran blindly into the forest.

'_Why?! Why is this happening?! Oh, Kaen-dono!_'

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_Back with Ukitake…_

"**Why aren't you attacking me, Soul Reaper?!"** the Hollow snarled as it ran across the clearing. Ukitake mirrored it, his face grim and determined.

A knowing smirk crept across 'Kaien's' face as an idea occurred to it.

"**Ahhh…I see. You're trying to figure out a way to save your precious subordinate, aren't you?"** the Hollow sneered, **"Well that's just too bad! Unlike when a Hollow possesses a human, a Soul Reaper is a Spiritual Being! Kaien and I are now one and the same! We cannot be separated anymore!"**

The Hollow was smug at its announcement, right up until Ukitake flashed by it and slashed at its neck, leaving a deep wound. Screaming in pain, the Hollow clutched the wound as it whirled around to glare at a sad looking Ukitake.

"I see." the white-haired captain said gravely as he pointed his blade at the possessed body of his Lieutenant, "Then I shall kill Kaien's body…and you along with it!"

The Hollow started to curse in its mind. This wasn't supposed to happen!

"**What kind of Soul Reaper would kill his own subordinate!?"** it screeched in anger at Ukitake.

"You just told me that there was no hope of saving Kaien." the white-haired man said softly, "You slew his wife, destroyed his Zanpakutō and now, you desecrate his Soul with your presence. I'll be _damned_ if I allow you to use his body! Now DIE!"

With that, Ukitake lunged forwards into the attack, scoring a shallow cut across the abdomen even as the Hollow leapt away from him.

"Come back he-" Ukitake started to shout as he prepared to pursue the Hollow, before his chronic illness chose this moment of all times to act up, making him cough up blood.

'_Now of all times!_' Squad Thirteen's Captain thought in frustration as he helplessly watched the Hollow leapfrogging towards the trees. He stiffened in shock as he saw a familiar head of raven-black hair emerge…right in the path of the Hollow.

Cursing himself for his inability to move because of his thrice-be-damned illness, all Ukitake could do was pray for her safety.

'_Be careful, Rukia-chan…this Hollow is not an opponent to be taken lightly!_'

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_With Rukia…_

The ravenette Soul Reaper stood with her zanpakutō drawn and ready to use. In all honesty, Rukia didn't know why she had come back, just that she had had to.

She barely heard Ukitake-taicho's shout of warning. She barely paid any attention to her surroundings. All she could focus on was the monster that had once been Shiba Kaien.

Small tentacles poked out through his now green skin on his right arm and his tongue lolled out from his mouth as the Hollow cackled madly. This…this _abomination_ was _not_ Kaien-dono.

In a single instant, Rukia made up her mind on what she had to do. When the Hollow drew close enough, she let her body react instinctively to fulfil the purpose she had returned to complete.

Her blade pierced the body of Shiba Kaien in a single, smooth thrust. Blood erupted from the wound, gushing over her abdomen and torso, some reaching as high as her cheek.

Frozen in shock by what she had done, Rukia ignored the rain that had started to fall upon the forest. She was jolted out of her paralysis by the body impaled on her blade speaking.

"U-Ukitake-Taicho…" the unmistakable voice of Shiba Kaien made Rukia's eyes widen in shock. Across from the two, Ukitake stood facing them. He took in Rukia's stunned expression and cursed the illness that had only now ceased its attack on his body. The white-haired captain was full of sorrow as his Lieutenant spoke what would almost certainly be his last words.

"Thank you…thank you Taicho, for…letting me fight…to the very end." the Lieutenant's voice was weak and almost inaudible.

"B…But…Kaien-dono…does that mean you-" Rukia's own voice was starting to crack with accumulated grief and shock.

"Rukia…" Kaien interrupted her, "…I have to apologise to you…for getting you involved in…all this…in the first place…"

He groaned in pain before continuing, "I know…that this was…painful for you…but thanks to you…I'm saved. I…can…still…leave my…heart…here...with you…"

With these last words, Shiba Kaien, Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, passed away with a smile on his face, not as a Hollow, but as a Soul Reaper, both slain and saved by Kuchiki Rukia.

When she realised that Kaien was dead, _truly_ dead, Rukia began to cry, her tears falling again from her eyes to mingle with the falling rain. The wail of loss that she let out was truly heartbreaking and echoed mournfully throughout the forest.

Miles away in the Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls), inside the Captain's Office in the Squad Five Barracks, Captain Aizen Sōsuke looked up from his paperwork as a blinking light from a rock suddenly went out. He then gave a most evil smile that clashed with his usual kindly demeanour.

"That's Phase One, complete." he murmured aloud, "Gin can begin Phase Two tomorrow."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_Twenty-Three Years Later…_

_Secret Laboratory, Unknown Location_

The corridors of the Lab complex were dim and sparsely lit, not that there was much to look at it the lab in general. Or people to look, for that matter. It was almost entirely abandoned now, save for the cell block where the test subjects were imprisoned.

Three men wearing the Shihakushō and haori of Captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads strode into the cell block casually. One was dark-skinned, his hair in braids and an orange scarf around his neck. His sightless eyes stared out blankly, yet there was no sign of hesitation in his steps.

His name was Tōsen Kaname.

The second man didn't wear any special clothes with his captain's outfit, but his entire appearance other than his clothes stood out. His short hair was silver and his eyes were almost permanently slits, making him resemble a fox. He was tall and lanky, giving him a skeletal appearance. His mouth was in a mocking grin, which seemed to be the standard for him.

His name was Ichimaru Gin.

The last man was, for lack of a better word, ordinary. His brown hair was what one would expect from a scholar or a librarian, he wore square rimmed glasses and, all in all, seemed to be a fairly mild-mannered kind of man.

'Seemed to be' being the operative phrase here. His name was Aizen Sōsuke.

"Kaname, how many remain?" Aizen asked. His words and manner, although unfailingly polite, were from the position of a superior to a subordinate, rather from on e captain to another.

"Ten will not last past the next hour." Tōsen replied, "Several more will last until nightfall, but no longer. The Reiatsu of the rest, from the data gleaned from past experiments, are showing signs of Soul Suicide within the next ten minutes, Aizen-sama."

"Ahhh, man. We really are running through them rather quickly, eh, Aizen-taicho?" Gin remarked rather flippantly.

Tōsen ignored him and continued with his report. "I believe that we should dispose of the majority of the test subjects and focus our attempts on Subject group C-A. they have yet to be…altered…as the other were."

"C-A…isn't that the group of young Souls and New Souls we've been gathering up from the Rukongai and a few minor Noble Families in the Seireitei?" Gin mused aloud.

"Indeed. They have received some of the basic alterations and enhancements, but not the latest round we devised for the last group." Tōsen said indifferently, "The final implantation will have to be soon though, as some of them are on the verge of prematurely awakening their Spiritual Powers."

Aizen considered the matter for a moment before nodding. "Very well then. We shall proceed with the Final Implantation of Group C-A. Gather as many as are needed for the completion of the project, but no more than that."

An evil smile flashed across Aizen's face as he continued, "The other Project, codenamed 'White', is showing more promise than this one and we have to monitor his first outing tonight. We'll begin the final phase of this project once 'White' has been let out to play."

"By your command, Aizen-sama."

"Gotcha, Aizen-taicho."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_Eight Years Later…_

_Cellblock, Hidden Lab Complex, Unknown Location…_

The cellblock was vast, dark and damp. Once, it was filled to capacity with prisoners to be used as test subjects. Now, only one cell was occupied…by a single person.

Chained loosely to the wall by her hands and legs, the girl had the physical appearance of a five year old. Her long, red hair pooled on the floor that she sat on. She wore a filthy and dishevelled kimono that covered her slight frame with plenty of room to spare.

She stirred slightly, although she dared not raise her head, when footsteps approached her cell and a cold voice spoke up.

"She is the only survivor?"

The girl kept as still as she possibly could when she heard these words. She was the only one left? Everyone was dead? Rei, Masao, Misa, Tatsuya, Hibiki…they were gone?

A second voice answered the first. "Yep. This little one's Reiatsu barely budged when the Implantation was made. Hardly any screaming compared to the others either."

The second voice was speaking lightly, like he was discussing something over a cup of tea. It pissed the girl off so much that the embers of anger within the depths of her Soul flickered back to life.

"Has she shown any signs of instabilities?"

"Nope. Well, I say that, but we can't monitor her forming inner world anymore, so there might be, then again there might not be." the second voice replied whimsically.

The owner of the first voice sighed, disappointment clear from the way he did so. "I see…that is a shame. I had high hopes for this project, but it seems to have been in vain."

"Ya can't win 'em all, Aizen-taicho." the second voice remarked.

"This project will have to be erased…thoroughly." the first voice -Aizen- stated firmly, "I will deal with this…_refuse_…while you charge the complex's self destruct Kidō, Gin."

A cold feeling came over the girl as the sound of metal scraping on metal came slowly from just outside the cell. _Refuse_…that's all she was to this Aizen person. Not even deserving the title of a person or living being.

Gin chuckled. "Nah. I'll take care of the girl AND set the Kidō, Aizen-taicho."

"And that would be because…_why_, exactly?" Aizen responded.

"Ya have a meeting with the Captain-Commander soon, remember?" Gin reminded his companion.

Aizen growled in frustration. The girl would later find out that it was rare for him to do that.

"Indeed." Aizen spat out, "With every meeting I have with that old relic of a fossil, the more I look forwards to standing atop heaven, with that old fool lying broken at my feet. Very well. Make sure she is dealt with."

With that, Aizen walked away, his footsteps receding until they were swallowed by the silence of the cellblock, leaving Gin and the girl in the cell alone.

"Oi, girl." Gin spoke to her quietly once the last echoes of Aizen's footsteps faded into nothing, "Look at me. I know that you're awake."

Slowly, the girl looked up and opened her eyes, revealing a pair of jade green orbs that gazed intensely at the silver-haired man before her. She took him in and made a snap judgement about him; He wasn't someone to cross. Not only was he a Captain-rank Soul Reaper, he had an aura of ruthlessness about him that practically broadcast that he would kill anyone who got in his way.

The man called Gin opened the door to her cell and walked in, stopping just short of her chained form.

"Ya got any questions?" he asked, "Ya were awake for all of our conversation, so you should have a few."

"Am…am I _really_ the only one left?" the girl asked hesitantly, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

Gin sighed. "Thought you'd ask that. Yep. All of yer friends're gone. You are truly alone now."

He held nothing back in his voice. There wasn't a jot of sympathy or mercy as he said it, just a plain statement of fact.

A dry sob wrenched itself from the young Soul's throat as she took this in. She viciously suppressed her tears and looked back up at Gin, who watched her impassively.

"Why?" she bit out, "Why do all this? What's the point?"

Gin shrugged casually as he said, "Aizen-taicho wanted to do 'all this', as you put it, so I had ta go along with it. Nothing personal, girlie."

"Not what I asked." the girl shot back.

"Ah, ya want ta know exactly why Aizen-taicho conducted this experiment in the first place?" Gin asked. At her nod, he chuckled.

"Ain't no reason for ya ta know." he told her, "Suffice is ta say, he had the power to do it, so he did it."

That struck her speechless for a moment before she recovered and asked one final question.

"How many did you and Aizen sacrifice? How many Souls are dead from this…experiment?"

Gin blinked in surprise at this question, but answered it anyway.

"It's hard to be certain, but I'd estimate that, in this experiment, at least half a million Souls were either turned into Hollows or experimented to the point of Soul Suicide." he paused as he took in the girl's reaction.

Her eyes had taken on a hollow, empty look as she mouthed 'half a million' in disbelief.

Gin decided to continue. "Out of all of 'em, you alone survived. I dunno how or why. Fate…chance…destiny…it could be some or all of 'em. Alternatively, it could be none of 'em. Fact is, you're alive. Ya survived what killed almost half a million others."

Gin lowered himself to one knee and tilted her head to look her straight in the eyes as he said, "I'm gonna offer ya a choice, girl. Either die in despair or live for revenge."

The girl looked at him blankly. Gin reminded himself that she was actually the same age she looked, so it wasn't a surprise that she didn't get what he was saying.

"To be clear, Ojou-chan, I wouldn't blame ya if the despair you're currently feeling is so painful that ya want it all to end." Gin told her, "If that's the case, I'll gladly end your life mercifully.

If, on the other hand, ya can make it past the pain and overcome yer despair, I'll give ya the chance ta avenge yer friends and all the other Souls that were experimented on here."

The girl gaped at him in astonishment as a question fought its way to the surface.

"Wha….why would you…?" she squeaked out.

Gin grinned. "Just because." he told her.

"You…" she seemed thrown by that reply, "You're part of Aizen's team! I'd include you in my revenge, you know!"

"And so you should." Gin told her with a shrug, "I have my own plans and agenda. If I fail, I'll wash my neck and wait for ya ta come for me."

The girl was silent for a moment. "It hurts. For as long as I can remember, my life has been full of nothing but pain and suffering day in and day out. Now I'm alone, the pain is worse. I want to end it here."

Gin sighed and reached for his zanpakutō. The girl looked him in the eyes and he stopped in mid-reach. Fire was blazing in those eyes, a fire that spoke of determination and a thirst for revenge.

"But, now that you've offered me the chance to live, I have to take it. I want to live, even if it is only for a little while longer." she said softly, "Aizen can't be allowed to do this to others. Taicho-san, I want to live!"

Gin then gave a real smile, not the fake one he commonly used. Unlocking the manacles that tied her to the wall he helped her to her feet.

"Well said, girl." he told her as he led her from her cell, "Well said indeed."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_Fifteen Minutes Later…_

_Lab Private Senkaimon…_

"You're sending me WHERE!?" the girl glared at Gin in bemusement.

"The World of the Living." he replied nonchalantly, utterly unfazed by her outburst.

"Why?" the redheaded girl was suspicious about this, "What's in the World of the Living?"

"Two things." Gin replied, "Safety and Allies. Here, in th' Soul Society, Aizen-taicho could easily track down by yer Reiryoku any time ya used yer Reiatsu. Not so much in the World of the Living. Captains can't just go there at the drop of a hat."

"And allies?" the girl asked, "Who do you mean?"

"Aizen-taicho manipulated events 'bout ninety years ago and had a lot of Captains and Lieutenants exiled from the Soul Society." Gin replied, "I'm hoping to send you to a place where we know that they are at. A place called Karakura Town."

"They're…your enemies?" the girl asked.

"Hmmm….yeah, I'd say so." Gin replied with an unconcerned shrug, "They'd try and kill me if I showed up on their doorstep, so take that as yah want."

"How will I recognise them?" the young Soul asked with a frown, "I still can't detect Reiatsu."

"If ya did at the age of five, I'd be very surprised." the silver-haired man told her, "The ones I'm sending ya to are all Captain-class Soul Reapers, so even if ya can't detect Reiatsu, you'll still know about it when ya get near them. I can tell you their names and general appearances if ya like?"

"That would help." the girl said with a nod.

"OK then." Gin said with a grin, "First off, the only woman of the group. Her name is Shihōin Yoruichi, formerly the 22nd Head of the Shihōin Clan, Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō (Stealth Force) and Captain of the Second Squad of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

"What the hell?!" the girl exclaimed, "Why is the former head of one of the Four Great Noble Families in the World of the Living!?"

Then she frowned. "How the heck do I know that? I've never even _heard_ of the Shihōin Clan until now."

The silver-haired man regarded her carefully. "I dunno…let me test something. I'll say a name and you have to try and give me the same info on them that I gave you about Yoruichi, OK?"

The girl nodded, looking a bit worried.

"OK. Urahara Kisuke." Gin said as he looked at her through hooded eyes.

She thought for a moment. "Former Captain of the Twelfth Squad of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and Founder of the Soul Reaper Department of Research and Development. Accused of the Hollowfication of several Captains and Lieutenants ninety years ago. Currently in exile."

"Tsukabishi Tessai."

"Former Grand Kidō Chief of the Kidō Corps and former Kidō Corps Commander. Exiled ninety years ago on the same charges as Urahara Kisuke." the girl recited, "This is scary. How do I know this stuff?"

"Hmm….I'd have to say that Aizen-taicho's experiment actually worked, to some degree at least." Gin mused aloud to the girl's horror, "The fact ya know info about people you haven't even heard of before I told ya their names proves that. Now it's even more vital that ya get to Urahara. If anyone can tell ya what's up with you, it's him."

Composing herself, the young redhead nodded. Gin searched throughout the room until he found what he was looking for.

"Here. You'll be needing this a few years down the line." Gin said as he held out a sheathed katana to her.

"Is that…an Asauchi?" the girl asked in disbelief.

"Yep. The only way for you to get strong enough to take your revenge is ta become a Soul Reaper yourself." Gin told her, "Keep this with ya every moment of every day and it'll become yer own zanpakutō someday."

An awed look came over her face and she took the sword from Gin with reverence. She staggered at the unfamiliar weight, but caught herself before she lost her balance.

Gin nodded before frowning slightly. "Now, Urahara will likely try and take it from ya if he knows it's a zanpakutō, so we should disguise it…hmmm…wrapping it up won't work…no, that shouldn't work, but…what the hell? It's worth a shot."

Turning to the girl he asked her, "Alright then kid. Ya know what a bokken is?"

"A wooden sword." she replied promptly.

"Good. Now, I want you to hold that Asauchi tightly and imagine it becoming a bokken. You have to imagine every detail. The feel of the wood, the form, the weight, even the smell. Try that for me." Gin encouraged her.

What he was asking her to do was something that almost every graduate of the Shinōreijutsuin could do, but very few actually ever used. A zanpakutō could look like anything its wielder wished it to look like, so long as it was of similar proportions to the zanpakutō in question.

In _theory_, it didn't matter if the zanpakutō and its wielder weren't in sync with one another for the purposes of this technique, as it had nothing to do with either _**Shikai (Initial Release)**_ or _**Bankai (Final Release)**_. That was the theory, anyway. It had never been attempted with an Asauchi that had just been given to someone, but there was no actual reason why it shouldn't work.

The redheaded Soul closed her eyes and focussed on the image that she had of a bokken in her head. How it felt to touch, how it hefted in the hands in the memory, the texture of the wood…all of it. Then, she focussed on the sheathed sword in her hands _becoming_ that bokken.

Inside of her, she felt something shift and flow through her hands and into the zanpakutō. Opening her eyes, she saw that she no longer held a sheathed sword, but a bokken, identical to those found in almost every practice dojo in Soul Society.

"I did it!" the girl cheered.

Gin grinned. "Well done. Reversing the process is actually more simple. You just have to picture it reverting to its original form and it'll happen as long as you're holding it. Ya can practice later. The World of the Living awaits."

Gin strode towards the rectangular Senkaimon standing in the middle of the room. After checking to makes sure that the Kidō powering the Gate was working properly, the silver-haired man unsheathed his Zanpakutō and seemed to insert the wakizashi-sized blade into midair, most of the blade disappearing into nothing before Gin turned it like a key, opening a door in midair that was shrouded in darkness.

"This ain't an official gate and I don't dare use a Jigokuchō (Hell Butterfly) ta guide ya through to the World of the Living, so yer gonna have ta risk running through the Dangai (Precipice World). This means you will not only have to avoid the Kōryū (Wrestling Flow), you'll probably have ta outrun the Kōtotsu (Wrestling Surge) as well."

"But I'm way too small to outrun _that _thing!" the girl protested.

"Yep. That's why I'm gonna use a special Kidō in order ta help ya out." Gin told her as he placed a single finger on her forehead, "_**Shinrai no Jūni Basha. Hikari no Nijūyon Ha o Muku Kemono! Zehi, Tasogare no Naka Atsumaru! Ten Kara Rakka Shi o Fukoku-sha! Bakudō #50: Tenjō Yusō!**_ _**(Twelve Carriages of Divine Thunder. Twenty-Four Snarling Beasts of Light! Come and gather amid the Twilight! Herald a fall from the Heavens! Way of Binding Number Fifty: Heavenly Transport!)**_"

Gin's finger glowed blue for a moment before the redheaded girl as surrounded by a sphere of blue energy created by the Captain's Kidō. It floated in midair a few inches off of the ground and seemed to only be held back by Gin's finger on the girl's head.

"This little gem of a Kidō was invented by Aizen-taicho for sending unwilling subjects to one of his labs from the World of the Living to this lab. Obviously, it works in reverse." Gin told her, "I'm not nearly as skilled with it as Aizen-taicho is so I can only get you about three-quarters of the way there before the Kidō gives out. Once it stops, run like yer life depends on it, cause it will."

"R-Right!" the girl nodded, "What should I tell the ex-Captains about how I got to the World of the Living?"

"Tell 'em that I threw you into the Dangai to dispose of ya." Gin replied, "Just being chased by the Kōtotsu causes a minor distortion in time. If yer caught by it, yer gonna be sent hundreds of years into the past…or maybe even the future. Either way, you'd be outta the way of Aizen-taicho's plans."

"OK." the girl replied.

"One final thing. Tell 'em I bragged when I took ya along here and told you this; the experiment Aizen-taicho performed on ya was the insertion of the Reiatsu of a Soul Reaper who had been possessed by a Hollow into ya."

The Soul looked appalled by this. "H…How did I…?"

"No idea." Gin shrugged, "Anyway, Aizen-taicho wanted to create a perfect Soul Reaper/Hollow Hybrid. A being that combined the positive energy of a Soul Reaper and the negative energy of a Hollow. A perfect, superior being. Out of the entire half a million test subjects, you were the only one not ta Hollowfy, commit Soul Suicide or simply die after the foreign Reiatsu was inserted inta ya."

"Who…who as he?" the girl asked in a whisper, "Who was the donor of the Reiatsu inserted into me?"

"He died over thirty years ago." Gin told her, "A victim of another one of Aizen-taicho's experiments. His name was Shiba Kaien and the Hollow's name was Metastacia."

A shiver went down the young Soul's spine as she heard the name of the person who had been the source of her implanted Reiatsu. It sounded…familiar, somehow.

Gin grinned at her shocked face. "That is all I can tell you. If we meet again, I don't know you, and you don't know me. Got it?"

"Got it." the girl nodded, "One last question. Is it really only you and Aizen together on this…conspiracy?"

"Nope. One more is on our side." Gin replied, "Tōsen Kaname. Bye now."

Gin removed his finger from the girl's forehead and drew it out of the sphere, instantly allowing the Kidō to propel the girl at breakneck speeds into the darkness of the Dangai. Seriously, it was almost as if the sphere had used _**Shunpo**_.

After shutting down the Senkaimon, Gin activated the Lab complex's self destruct Kidō and sauntered out with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

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_In the Dangai…_

The girl clutched at the zanpakutō in her hands with a death grip as she hurtled along the corridor in the Dangai at speeds which, frankly, terrified her.

'_If this kills me, I'm going to haunt that silver-haired bastard until he dies!_' she swore as she shifted uncomfortably inside the Kidō sphere. It was only barely large enough to hold her and she was starting to feel sore.

After who-knows-how-long, the sphere started to slow down. The young Soul started to panic, remembering that Gin had stated that it would only take her three-quarters of the way down the Dangai.

An image popped into her head of a Soul Reaper being caught by the walls of Kōryū and being sucked into it in a matter of minutes.

"What the heck is going on?" the girl muttered as another image flashed into her mind, of what she assumed to be the Kōtotsu, a giant black thing with a single glaring yellow eye in the centre, running over another Soul Reaper.

"What is _with_ these memories?" she muttered. She could not remember anything about who she had been before Aizen had gotten his hands on her; hardly surprising because she had literally only been two years old when that had happened. Now she was getting flashes of other memories…memories that weren't her own.

"Kaien…" she whispered before shaking her head. This wasn't the time. The sphere had almost come to a halt and that meant it was time to focus on running as soon as it vanished…which it just did with a pop.

Hitting the ground running, her bare feet slapping on the…substance…that made up the floor, the girl heard a noise from behind her -thankfully a great distance behind her- that she identified as being the sound of the Kōtotsu approaching.

"I will not be eaten by an oversized, one-eyed snake-thing, damn it!" the girl screamed as she ran.

Being only five years old and unable to use the _**Shunpo**_, the girl grew tired after about five minutes. It certainly didn't help that she had been chained up for two weeks with Reiatsu-suppressing manacles, so she was more than slightly stiff, but she persevered.

With every step, the massive construct of the Kōtotsu drew closer to her, no matter how fast she went. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that it was less than ten meters away and closing!

"No!" she shrieked and found a hidden wellspring of energy within her to speed up fractionally. The young Soul was becoming desperate as the Kōtotsu drew ever closer.

'_There's the exit!_' she thought in relief as she saw the black square just a couple of meters away from her. With a leap, she sailed through it…

…and landed on grassy ground with a thump.

"Ow!" she said automatically as she used the bokken/zanpakutō to push herself to her knees, "I am definitely kicking that guy's ass when I get my hands on him."

She looked around at the area she was in. The World of the Living looked…strange. The buildings were all tall and made of something that looked like Sekkiseki and the air tasted funny.

Behind her, the pair of shōji (Paper Doors) that had disgorged her silently slid shut and vanished as if they weren't even there to begin with.

"Great. I'm in the world of the Living and I have _no clue _where to look." the girl muttered before she close her eyes and reached out with her nascent Spiritual Powers, trying to detect any seriously large concentrations of Reiatsu.

When Gin had led her out of the cellblock, she had almost been crushed by the sheer concentration of his Reiatsu. He had reined it in with an apology, but she suspected he had done it deliberately to show her the quality of Reiatsu that Captain-class Soul Reapers possessed. The sheer amount was astonishing as well.

'_Here? No…There…? No, nowhere near enough…_' she thought as she tried to detect someone with out of the ordinary Reiryoku, '_Gah! This is pointless!_'

Finally getting fed up, she yelled into the night sky, "Urahara Kisuke! Where the heck are you?!"

"Right here." a calm male voice replied from behind her.

Wheeling around in shock, the girl stared at the odd looking man. He wore a green and white striped hat, a green kimono-like outfit and geta sandals on his feet. He carried a cane in his hand as if it was a sword.

"You're Urahara Kisuke?" the girl asked faintly as she started swaying on her feet.

"Hai, indeed I am." the man replied, his eyes locked on her, "May I ask who you are and why you are looking for me?"

"I'm…Kirika." the girl identified herself, "And I…need…your…help…"

Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground, the stress and exertion of the past couple of hours finally getting to her.

Urahara looked at Kirika in an utterly perplexed manner.

"Ara, ara…this is a regular pickle." he remarked aloud, "What should I do here?"

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**Next Chapter: Explanations and Kurosaki**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**


	2. Explanations and Kurosaki

**Author's Note: Well, here is chapter two. Now, this might be a good place to point out a few things. In canon, Kubo almost completely ignored Tatsuki. Why, I have no idea, but not in **_**my**_** Fic. One Substitute, here we come…**

**As to Orihime…she has a god-like power…and only has FOUR techniques with it. What the hell? That's gonna change.**

**Pairings…Definitely IchiRuki…not certain, but how does IchiRukiHime sound to you all?**

**As to Kirika…not certain. Tatsuki? Hinamori? Whatever. I'll think on it.**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

"Rukia" - Regular Speech

'_Ichigo_' - Thoughts

_*Kaien-dono*_ - Zanpakutō speech/thoughts

"_**Bankai!**_" - Spiritual Technique

**Chapter 2: Explanations and Kurosaki**

_An Hour Later_

_Urahara __Shōten, Karakura Town_

"So she just came out of a Senkaimon?" asked a black cat dubiously. Pure black with yellow eyes, the cat actually spoke in a human language and possessed the deep voice of a male.

"Yup." Urahara Kisuke replied flippantly. He sat cross-legged on the floor next to a futon. Tsukabishi Tessai was wiping the brow of the young girl who was laying on top of it.

"Kisuke, it's impossible." the cat said firmly, "The main Senkaimon is on top of a tower in the middle of the Seireitei. Even if she had somehow managed to get there, she would need to convince two members of the Kidō Corps to empower the Senkaimon for use."

"All true." Urahara acknowledged, "Nevertheless, she emerged from a Senkaimon. This means one of two things. One, she's from a Noble Family and she used her family's private Senkaimon."

"Unlikely." the cat sniffed, "She's dressed like someone from one of the outer districts of the Rukongai. Zaraki or Inuzuri, likely."

"Which leaves the last option as the most likely." Urahara said quietly, "Aizen."

"Why would he send us a Soul?" the cat asked, "She _is_ only a Soul, right?"

"My Kidō cannot read her Inner World." Tessai informed them.

"She shouldn't _have_ an Inner World." the cat refuted, "Not yet. Even a Pureblood Soul Reaper has to wait decades before they have a Inner World formed within themselves."

"Nevertheless, Yoruichi-dono, I can detect the presence of an Inner World within this girl." Tessai replied calmly, "All I can tell is that it exists, however. Even my most powerful examination Kidō is unable to penetrate the wall around her Inner World."

"Is it natural?" Kisuke asked intently.

"No, it is not." the former Commander of the Kidō Corps replied, "Furthermore, I detect trace elements of Hollow Reiatsu, as well as the Reiatsu signature belonging to a member of the Shiba Clan within her."

"What?!" Yoruichi leapt into the air and transformed into her real form, a buxom purple-haired beauty with brown skin and yellow eyes.

"Are you sure, Tessai?" the now human-and-female Yoruichi demanded.

"As sure as I can be." the man said stoically, ignoring the woman's nudity, "The traces are scattered about her being and are steadily merging with her Soul at an ever increasing rate. Within two days, they will be fully assimilated into her and unable to be removed."

"Looks like Aizen's been experimenting with Soul Reaper/Hollow Hybrids from the Soul Reaper's side again." Urahara said with a frown, "Who could the Shiba Reiatsu belong to?"

"If he's hurt Kūkaku or Ganju, I'll rip his head off!" the woman hissed.

"Ara, ara." Urahara waved at her, "I doubt he would deliberately go after those two. A far more likely scenario is that Aizen was involved in Kaien's death somehow. He was the last Shiba to die in the Soul Society before Isshin took over as the Clan Head."

"That would be a reasonable conclusion." Tessai agreed.

A groan from the girl made the three of them shut up and look at her. A slight flicker of her eyes told them she had peeked at them and was trying to pretend to still be asleep.

"Young miss, we can tell that you are awake, so please kindly sit up." Urahara said not unkindly.

Reluctantly, the girl's pale jade eyes opened and gazed warily at the two men and naked woman staring at her. Her tongue wetted her lips before she asked, "Wh-where am I…?"

"You're currently in the Urahara Shōten in Karakura Town." Yoruichi said quietly, "Now you answer my question. Did Aizen send you?"

"Him?" the redhead snorted, "He ordered that silver-haired guy to dispose of me…called me refuse…I'm the only one left."

"Only one left?" Urahara interjected, "An experiment to inject the essence of a Hollow-tainted Soul Reaper's Reiatsu into another spiritual being? Is that what you are the only survivor of?"

"Y-yes…" the girl swallowed and looked on the edge of tears.

"What's your name, kid?" Yoruichi asked.

"She said it was Kirika just before she fainted." Urahara answered for her.

"My friends gave me that name." the girl said in a choked voice, "Rei-chan…Masao-nii…Misa-nee…Tatsuya-kun…Misa-chan…I was taken as a babe…didn't have a name, just a number…so they named me after the mist of my memories and the fire-like colour of my hair. Kirika (**霧火**) or Mist Fire, you see…now…they're all gone….I'm…all that's left…"

With that, Kirika broke down into a quiet sobbing session that the on looking exiled Soul Reapers could tell wasn't in any way feigned. Yoruichi's previously impassive face softened and she padded out of the room, to return a few minutes later fully dressed in her usual outfit of black stretch-pants, light shoes, a black shirt and orange shirt atop that.

"Here." she offered the girl a tissue. Kirika accepted it with a nod and blew her nose with it.

"Ahem…by 'silver-haired guy', I presume you mean Ichimaru Gin?" Urahara asked carefully.

"That's what Aizen said." Kirika replied after she wiped her eyes dry, "He was going to…dispose of me himself…but the silver-haired guy…Gin…reminded him he had to get to a meeting with the Captain-Commander soon…so Aizen left my disposal to him."

"And he threw you into the Dangai." Yoruichi scowled, "You were lucky to outrun the Kōtotsu."

"The big, one-eyed snake thing?" Kirika asked, "It was only a foot behind me when I left the Senkaimon."

"_Very_ lucky." the werecat amended her statement, "Did Gin say anything before he threw you into the Dangai?"

"He…he told me that I was the only one left…after years of experimentation and half a million test subjects, I was the only one to survive." the redheaded Soul replied painfully, "He said that he wondered what Shiba Kaien would think of the one who had inherited his Reiatsu…as well as the Reiatsu of the Hollow that killed him, Metastacia."

"I think I can guess why you survived." Urahara said as he pulled his hat down to cover his eyes, "Shiba Kaien possessed a Flowing Water-type Zanpakutō, which is a subset of Water-type Zanpakutō. More than likely, none of the others who were experimented on possessed a Zanpakutō at all or, if they did possess one, it wasn't a Water or Flowing Water type. You were just lucky enough to have a Flowing Water-type Zanpakutō yourself, or at least the potential to possess one."

"So…it was just luck that I survived?" Kirika asked.

"Pretty much." Urahara replied bluntly, "The next question is where you got your hands on an Asauchi."

He pointed at the wall to his left, where Kirika's bokken rested against the wall.

"I ran away from Gin at first." Kirika said quietly, "I didn't stand a chance of actually getting away, but he took his time finding me. While he was, I found the Asauchi propped up against a wall and grabbed it. A memory flew into my head of a Zanpakutō transforming into a cane and I tried to imagine the Asauchi turning into something…and it turned into a bokken."

"A memory flew into your head?" Urahara asked sharply, "Have you had any more."

"A…couple, in the Dangai." Kirika said, "Of what would happen if I touched the Kōryū or the Kōtotsu. I…I think that the memories belong to Shiba Kaien."

"Then it would appear that Aizen was to hasty in disposing of you." Urahara said grimly, "His experiment, which I believe was to create a Soul Reaper/Hollow Hybrid, was at least partially successful. I presume that the reason you were cast aside is because your Inner World can't be monitored?"

At Kirika's mute nod, the ex-Captain sighed. "Aizen seems to have become more careless in the last century. There are a whole host of other methods to determine stability of the Soul other than monitoring a person's Inner World, but he just tossed you aside without a second thought. Interesting…"

The blond man stared into space and started to mutter under his breath.

"Does…does he do this all the time?" Kirika asked in bafflement.

"Indeed." Tessai intoned, "The Manager has a bad tendency to do so whenever something new catches his eye. He'll be like this for a while."

"Can I have my Asauchi back?" she asked, "I need to bond with it."

"Why?" Yoruichi asked, although she already had a suspicion as to the answer.

"Revenge." Kirika replied, a glint of fire in her eyes, "Revenge against Aizen…Gin...and the other one…Tōsen something-or-other."

"Tōsen Kaname." Yoruichi told her, "A Soul like you won't be able to be strong enough, soon enough. Souls age at a very slow rate compared to humans."

"I have to. Otherwise, why else am I alive?" Kirika said determinedly, "I'm here, my friends are gone. I have to avenge them! What other purpose is there for me?"

The former Clan Head of the Shihōin sighed. She figured that if they tried to stop the girl trying avenge her friends' deaths, she might run off and get eaten by a Hollow trying to train herself. She absently whacked Urahara on his head, making him whine at the pain.

"Suck it up Kisuke." she told her childhood friend, "Examine her to make sure Aizen didn't leave any unpleasant surprises embedded in her. I wouldn't put it past the bastard to do that."

"Which one? Aizen or Gin?" Urahara asked cheekily.

"Either of 'em!" Yoruichi bopped him on the head again, "Now examine her!"

With numerous mutterings about domestic violence and violent women, Urahara spend the next half hour doing a series of tests on Kirika, aided by Tessai, that bypassed the entirety of the whole 'Inner World examination' problem that had irked Aizen.

"Well, I can confirm that your Inner World is completely shut off from outside scrutiny." he said at last, "Whatever it is that caused it has locked you up tighter than a drum. I doubt you could let anyone enter your Inner World with permission."

"You can do that?" Kirika asked.

"Only with the permission of the person the world belongs to." Urahara replied, "It isn't widely known or encouraged because entering another person's Inner World can have dire consequences if the Zanpakutō spirit takes offence at the presence of an intruder into their master's World. As I say, It is highly unlikely you will be able to do that.

Moving on to the modifications that were made to you, I won't bother listing them, but there are some fifty of them that have, for lack of a better term, shifted your soul. You now have a growth rate greater than that of a Soul, but less than that of a Human."

"How is that possible?" Yoruichi asked, her face incredulous.

"A combination of the extreme stress she was under, the locking-down of her Inner World, the numerous 'enhancements' performed to her and her own willpower." Urahara said with a shrug, "This is only a preliminary analysis, but that is essentially what is happening. Something of considerably higher concern is the memories that you have been receiving, Kirika-chan."

"Kaien's memories? What about them?" Kirika asked.

"There is a risk of your ego being crushed." Urahara told her. Seeing a look of incomprehension on her face, he decided to elaborate, "You are how old, exactly?"

"Five and a half." Kirika replied in puzzlement.

Urahara nodded. "Shiba Kaien, at the time of his death, was over two and a half _centuries_ old. The sheer volume of his memories is far more vast than your own. From what I've been able to tell, soon the memories, which have been a trickle up until now, will flood into your mind and overwhelm your sense of self. Soon, you will basically be a female version of Shiba Kaien."

"Stop scaring her and tell her what you're going to do to help her, Kisuke." Yoruichi said as she placed a supporting hand on Kirika, who was looking scared.

"Hai, Hai…" Urahara sighed, "The best solution that I can come up with is to seal those memories up for a period of years, until you have a sufficiently strong ego and are able to withstand the influx of memories without losing yourself."

"You aren't thinking of using a Kikanshinki (Account-Replacing Spirit Device) on her, are you?" Yoruichi asked suspiciously.

"No, that would only remove her memories of the last five minutes or so." Kisuke said with an airy wave of his hand, "Tessai and I will have to devise a brand new Bakudō in order to do this."

"How…how long do I have before the memories overwhelm me?" Kirika asked shakily.

"A couple of months at best." Kisuke replied, "At worst, a week."

"Oh…" the young Soul said faintly before her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

"Did you _have_ to be so dramatic about it?" the ex-leader of the Onmitsukidō asked Urahara disapprovingly, "She is exactly as old as she looks, after all."

"Yoruichi, this isn't good." Urahara said seriously, "If Aizen is discounting a girl with her potential just because he cannot monitor her Inner World, it must mean that he is close to starting something."

"I agree." Yoruichi replied as she placed Kirika's unconscious body back in the middle of the futon. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the bokken Asauchi and tucking it in with her.

"Why?" Kisuke asked simply.

"Once we have her memory situation under control, I'm gonna train her." the werecat replied, "She'll go out and try and train by herself otherwise, and likely get eaten by a Hollow. She sees it as her purpose to try and avenge the death of her friends at Aizen's hands. 'Why else am I alive?' she said earlier, while you were off in la-la land."

"I am not certain that this is a good idea." Urahara remarked neutrally.

Yoruichi snorted. "You're just irked that another variable has been added to your plan, so you have to adjust them to account for her presence in it."

"I would agree with Yoruichi-dono." Tessai put in, "Her addition to our forces would increase our chances of success significantly. I would offer my services at teaching her basic Reiryoku and Reiatsu control, as well as Kidō once she is ready for it."

"I see I am to be overruled here." Urahara sighed, "Very well. Now Tessai, let's get to work on that Bakudō. It should take a couple of days to do the basic framework if we take some of the processes from the Kikanshinki and adapt them…"

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_Unknown Location…_

Kirika woke up. She opened her eyes and looked around her surroundings in confusion. This wasn't the Urahara Shōten.

"_Now_ where the heck am I?" she groused as she sat up.

The place she was in looked like a land that had once been full of water, but was now dry as a bone. The earth was parched, the canals and aqueducts that once carried water were empty and wind blew dust all around them.

In the distance, she could see a large rock formation of some sort that was just about the only distinguishing feature around here, so she started walking towards it for lack of anything better to do.

The entire land was giving off a sense of sadness, as if it was mourning someone. Kirika shivered as the wind itself seemed to moan. As she approached the large rock, she saw a small pool of water around it, along with an area of greenery around the pool. Small waterfalls, eight of them, def the pool, but they were very small and barely added any water to the pool.

"Where am I?" Kirika asked in bemusement.

_*In your mindscape, young one*_ a soft voice muttered.

From the pool, a woman appeared. She was as tall as Yoruichi, with pale skin. She wore a cream and turquoise hakama and had her breasts bound with a large amount of bandages. Wrapped around her arms and floating above her head was a thin veil-like garment that Kirika immediately identified as a _hagoromo_ _(Dress of Feathers)_. The woman's hair was spiky and blue, while her eyes were a pale red, but kind.

"Who…are you?" Kirika asked.

_*My name is xxxxxxx.*_ the woman replied, _*Although I doubt you can hear my name.*_

"No, I can't." Kirika said with a frown, "Wait, you said this is my mindscape. Does that mean that this is my Inner World?"

_*It is the fusion of the remnant of Shiba Kaien's Inner World and the fledgling Inner World that was growing within you.* _the woman replied, _*While I am a remnant of Shiba Kaien's Zanpakutō.*_

Kirika's eyes flew wide open. "You are-?!" she choked out, before she bowed slightly, "I am sorry for my rudeness and for being unable to stop Aizen from using your wielder's Reiatsu like this."

The Zanpakutō Spirit smiled sadly at her. _*Child, I can no more blame you for hosting what little remains of my former master than I could blame the Soul Reaper who slew my former master.*_

"Huh?" Kirika tilted her head to one side in confusion.

_*My master was fighting against a Hollow which possessed the ability to destroy Asauchi.*_ Kaien's Zanpakutō Spirit explained, _*The second ability that the Hollow had was the ability to possess and control a Soul in its entirety, __Rei-tai Yūgō. With it, the Hollow possessed my master and used his body to attack someone he regarded as a younger sister called Kuchiki Rukia. She slew my master's body with a single thrust and allowed him to die as a Soul Reaper, rather than as a Hollow.*_

"Wow…" Kirika said, "What did Rukia-san think of Kaien-san?"

_*She regarded him as a mentor and as an elder brother, with a touch of a crush thrown in as well.*_ the Zanpakutō said with a fond smile, which dimmed as she added, _*She was likely devastated by having to slay him. I hope her Zanpakutō can help her through this trying time.*_

"Ummm…do you know where _my_ Zanpakutō Spirit is?" Kirika asked hopefully.

_*Regrettably, I have temporarily displaced your own Zanpakutō.*_ the woman answered, _*As long as I am here, your own Zanpakutō will remain in slumber…as will the Hollow that was born when Kaien-dono's Reiatsu was implanted into you.*_

"Oh…" Kirika didn't really know what to make of this. On one hand, she had a piece of a Soul Reaper inside her that was keeping the Hollow within locked down. On the other hand, it was blocking her from her own Zanpakutō as well.

_*I was listening when Ichimaru was talking to you.*_ the Zanpakutō said casually, _*As well as when you were talking with the exiles. Do you really intend to fight Aizen?*_

"Yes." Kirika nodded firmly, "He can't be allowed to do to others what he did to me and Kaien-san. He killed all my friends! He has to pay!"

_*Walking down a path of vengeance is not usually a wise idea.*_ Kaien's Zanpakutō warned her, _*It is fraught with peril and the end you seek is very rarely the end that you need. The fate of my own wielder is proof enough of that. He sought revenge for the death of his wife, and ended up dead himself.*_

"I know." Kirika said softly, "But…I can't _abide_ the idea of standing by and doing nothing while he gets away with who knows what! He has to be stopped."

_*I agree.*_ the Zanpakutō said simply, _*But you cannot do this alone. Aizen, Ichimaru and Tōsen are all Captain-Class Soul Reapers, with centuries of experience in combat, __Kidō__ and politics. They know their own Zanpakutō's skills inside and out and have achieved the two releases of their Zanpakutō as well. Without a Zanpakutō of your own, you cannot fight them effectively.*_

"But you just said that my Zanpakutō is buried and asleep!" Kirika protested.

_*Which is why I propose to lend you my own powers until there is nothing left of me.*_ the Zanpakutō said softly.

"Can…can you really do that?" Kirika asked.

_*The Soul Reaper Tōsen Kaname is living proof that such a thing is possible. He wields the Zanpakutō of his fallen friend, permanently displacing his true Zanpakutō in the process.*_ the bluenette replied, _*Unlike with Tōsen Kaname's blade however, I no longer have a physical form to use as an anchor, thanks to the Hollow Metastacia, so gradually my power will dwindle until I am absorbed into your true Zanpakutō.*_

"Why…?" the redhead was confused as to why Kaien's Zanpakutō would deliberately choose a path that guaranteed her destruction.

_*Shiba Kaien is no more. I was born from his soul and I am now missing a part of myself, which makes me feel…hollow. Not Hollow, just hollow.*_ the woman replied quietly, _*To have a part of yourself not just torn from you, but to be entirely helpless to do anything about it is the worst feeling in the world, young one. I wish to be with Kaien-dono again, even in death.*_

Kirika was silent for a moment, but there was no question as to what she would choose. She was silent in awe of the devotion that the Zanpakutō before her was showing to her former wielder.

"I…don't know how I will be as your temporary wielder, but I will do my best." she said finally, "I hope to be able to hear your name soon."

The Zanpakutō Spirit smiled at her. _*As do I, young one. As do I.*_

"Can you teach me about Zanpakutō?" Kirika asked.

_*Certainly. Let us have a seat by the water.*_ Kirika joined the woman at the side of the pond before she began her explanation, _*Zanpakutō are a part of a Soul Reaper's Soul. We are born with our wielders and, usually, we die with them as well. There are three forms that we Zanpakutō can take on. _

_The first is our __Fūingata (Sealed Form). This is when most of our power is locked away and concealed and we generally take on the appearance of a katana or a similar weapon. For those not of the Captain-class, the size of the sealed form is usually indicative of the amount of Reiatsu of the wielder._

_Next is Shikai (Initial Release). This is our true form and in order to use this form, a Soul Reaper must learn their Zanpakutō's name. This requires that the Zanpakutō trusts the wielder and vice-versa. The reason that you cannot yet hear my name is because neither of us knows each other well at this point._

_All Shikai have what is called a Kaigo (Release Call), a word, phrase or poem that transforms the Zanpakutō into its Shikai form. Every Kaigo differs from Zanpakutō to Zanpakutō, so once I tell you my name and Kaigo, you must memorise them.*_

"Wow…" Kirika breathed. There was so much to learn, and this was only about one aspect of being a Soul Reaper!

_*In Shikai form, we take up special characteristics that can be loosely divided into five types.*_ the Zanpakutō continued,_ *The first is Melee. Zanpakutō of this sort generally provides some manner of close combat enhancement. The second is __Kidō. This type generally can use a variety of Reiatsu-based attacks that are remarkably similar to either Hadō or Bakudō. Thirdly is illusion. This type are relatively rare and involves using techniques for tricking or controlling one or more of the five senses. Fourth, there are Non-Combat types. These are Zanpakutō of multiple different types that are not suited for combat in most cases, such as healing or movement. Finally, there are Elemental-type Zanpakutō, that use one of the elements to attack or defend.*_

"So many types!" the young Soul exclaimed, making the blue-haired woman smile.

_*Just so.*_ she agreed, _*While most types of Zanpakutō fall entirely into these categories, a few cross the boundaries and mix two or more of these categories. I am one such Zanpakutō.*_

"What categories do you mix?" Kirika asked eagerly.

_*Melee and Elemental. I am what is known as a Flowing Water-type Zanpakutō, meaning that while I create water, my specialty is controlling it. In conjunction with my melee enhancement, I am quite powerful.*_ she said proudly, _*While I am a mix of Melee and Elemental, the most common combination, there are also __Kidō/Melee, Melee/Illusion and Elemental/Kidō combinations. Other combinations are so rare that only a couple of instances of that type have ever been documented.*_

"I have so much to learn…" the redhead mutters.

_*Admitting that you know nothing is the first step to wisdom.*_ the Zanpakutō told her, _*The final form we Zanpakutō can take is very, very rare. It is called Bankai (Final Release). Up until this point, the relationship between a Soul Reaper and their Zanpakutō is one of mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, but in order to achieve Bankai, another facet has to be added to the relationship: Subjugation.*_

"I don't know what that means." Kirika admitted in an embarrassed voice.

_*To subjugate someone is to force that person to submit themselves to you by force.*_ the Zanpakutō explained, _*The reason you are here is because you unconsciously used the art of Jinzen (Sword Meditation) in order to enter your Inner World. For Bankai, you are required to do the reverse, and draw your Zanpakutō Spirit out of your Inner World and Materialise them in the real world. The Soul Reaper must then battle and defeat their Zanpakutō in order to achieve Bankai.*_

"That doesn't sound fair to the Zanpakutō." Kirika said with a frown.

This earned her another smile. _*Bankai is very difficult to attain and only those with immensely strong Reiatsu ever achieve it, meaning Captain-class Soul Reapers, who mostly come from the Four Great Noble Families or, more rarely, from the lesser Noble Families. Rarer still are those who are from the Rukongai. The subjugation is a one-time thing and rarely inconveniences the Zanpakutō beyond hurt pride.*_

"That's good." Kirika nods firmly, then frowns, "Urahara-san said that my Inner World is locked up tightly, to the point I can't let anyone in even if I invite them. What if this means I can't materialise you?"

_*The barrier you speak of is a product of your own unique ability, the power to absolutely protect your Inner World, twisted by the experiments performed upon you by Aizen Sōsuke.*_ the woman soothed her, _*It prevents all foreign Reiatsu from entering your Inner World, even if it is what you wish to happen. As I have fused with you, my Reiatsu is largely the same as yours, meaning that you can materialise me without a problem once you learn how. _

_As to whether you can learn Bankai…as I have said, only those possessing an immense amount of Reiatsu ever achieve Bankai. This is because in order to materialise a Zanpakutō Spirit, it takes a great quantity of Reiatsu, as well as a great deal of focus. You have a great deal of potential, young one, but I do not know if it will be enough to achieve my Bankai.*_

The Soul nods before looking around the landscape around her. "Why is the landscape like this?" she asked.

_*The state of the Inner World of a Soul Reaper reflects the mental state of the Soul Reaper who created it.*_ the blue-haired woman said sadly, _*Each world differs from person to person, but in this case it is easy to explain. You are mourning the loss of your friends and are full of anger and despair. This is reflected by the water retreating to this pool and the land drying up, as well as the aura of sadness across the entirety of the world.*_

"So…this is my fault?" Kirika asked quietly.

The Zanpakutō Spirit, reaches out and gently grasps the girl's chin and makes her look the woman in the eyes. _*Kirika-sama, it isn't your fault. If you did not feel angry, sad and despairing after being tortured and experimented on for three years, I'd think something was wrong with you. As your mental state improves, so too shall this world. Let me show you something that might help.*_

The Spirit stood and beckoned Kirika to follow her. Puzzled, the redhead followed her as the woman strode around the rock. Stopping, the Zanpakutō pointed at the back of the rock that seemed to be the centre of her Inner World. Kirika followed her finger and her eyes blinked once, then twice before they widened and filled with tears.

Carved onto the back of the rock was an engraving that depicted the faces she thought she would never see again, the faces of her friends who had been sacrificed by Aizen in pursuit of whatever mad goal he sought.

_*No matter what Aizen did to them, they live on here, within your heart, Kirika-sama.*_ the woman said softly as her new wielder collapsed to her knees in shock, _*You are never alone, for you have inherited their hearts. You are the one who will avenge their suffering and the one who will make their sacrifice worthwhile, so please never think yourself to be alone.*_

The orphaned Soul Kirika gave into her grief, which she had been holding back ever since she had heard Gin confirm the death of her friends, and wept. The Zanpakutō Spirit that had formerly belonged to Shiba Kaien knelt at her new wielder's side and drew her gently into a hug.

'_*Aizen Sōsuke, you have much to answer for.*'_ Nejibana thought as she comforted her new wielder, _'*I will do all I can so Kirika-sama is ready to face you and more, so that when I am finally absorbed into her real Zanpakutō, the Kirika-sama that that spirit meets will be far more ready to deal with you than you might think!*'_

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_In the Real World…_

"Yoruichi, what's with that Reiatsu?" Urahara called. He and Tessai were in the underground training room he had built for training purposes. They were working out the exact parameters of the Bakudō that would keep the girl from having her ego crushed, when this build-up of Reiatsu started.

"It's Kirika." the werecat called back, "She's gone into Jinzen somehow."

"What?" Urahara asked calmly, although his mind was racing. Jinzen wasn't usually attainable with a freshly issued Asauchi. A few prodigies managed it within a month, but going into Jinzen after _not even a single day_ was unheard of. She was only five, her Zanpakutō shouldn't even be formed yet, so how…oh.

"She must have had a piece of Shiba Kaien's Zanpakutō inserted into her as well!" he cursed himself under his breath. No wonder she was able to disguise her Asauchi as a bokken; she had a fully mature Zanpakutō Spirit within her accelerating the process of her spiritual awakening!

Using his _**Shunpo**_, Urahara raced up the ladder and straight to the girl's bedside, where Yoruichi was standing over the girl looking worried.

"Look at her kimono." the Shunshin (Flash Goddess) said quietly. Kisuke looked at the girl and his eyes widened. It was shrinking to fit her, as well as turning black.

"Her kimono is turning into a Shihakushō." he said in amazement, "She's turning into a Soul Reaper."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" his childhood friend said sarcastically, "Now, would you care to speculate as to _why_ she is tuning into a Soul Reaper?"

"She has Nejibana inside her." Kisuke said flatly, "A _fully mature _Zanpakutō Spirit, not her own, still developing, Zanpakutō. She fell into Jinzen as she was dreaming, I would presume, and has started talking to her, maybe even learned what Nejibana's name is. That kick-started the process of activating her own Soul Reaper powers."

"So she's a Pureblood Soul Reaper." Yoruichi stated, "That means she's from one of the Noble Families."

"Irrelevant. This complicates the plans for the Bakudō considerably." Urahara replied in a clipped tone, "Now we have to design it do it doesn't impede communication between her and Nejibana. Not only that, this cuts down on how long we have before her ego gets crushed. We have two weeks at the latest and perhaps a couple of days minimum before that happens."

"Well then don't just stand there like an idiot; get to it!" Yoruichi shooed him away before returning to her vigil over the sleeping girl, watching as tears fell from her eyes in her sleep.

"Boss?" Tessai asked him as the former captain of Squad Twelve as he blurred back into existence at his side.

"She has Nejibana and she's turning into a Soul Reaper." Urahara said with a shake of his head, "We're running out of time. How long until we have a working model?"

"Midday tomorrow if I don't sleep." the muscled man replied, "Then the testing would take another two days."

"The earliest she could have her ego crushed is the day after tomorrow." Urahara said with a frown, "We'll have to speed the process up, otherwise Yoruichi with claw my eyes out. She's gone all maternal over the kid."

"It isn't really all that hard to do, Boss." Tessai remarked as he worked on the Bakudō, "She's been through more than the Visored have. Or perhaps a better way to put it is that she's been through just as much as the Visored in a different way."

"Hmmm…a hundred years of exile for something in no way their fault, forcibly Hollowfied and almost executed versus being taken from your parents at the age of two, tortured and experimented on for three years and the knowledge that she is the only one out of half-a-million to survive…" Urahara mused, "Tough call to make, but I think the young lady up there has the Visored beaten."

"Hmmm." Tessai grunted.

The two men put their heads together and started to work hard on the Bakudō. One because he took pride in his work, the other because he greatly feared a certain werecat's wrath.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_The Next Day…_

Kirika woke up…again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. She looked around slowly and saw that she was now back in the Urahara Shōten…or rather, her mind was out of her Inner World.

"Awake now, sleeping beauty?" Yoruichi asked from her position next to Kirika's futon, "You've slept for over a day. Guess you needed that, eh?"

"Hard to sleep when you're chained to the wall with Reiatsu-sapping manacles." Kirika replied dryly.

"Seriously?" Yoruichi asked with a shake of her head, "Aizen is going to pay for this. How do you feel? Still you?"

"I…think so." Kirika said slowly, "Oh! That reminds me, I met Kaien's Zanpakutō in my Inner World!"

"Did she tell you her name?" the purple-haired woman asked intently.

"She tried to, but I couldn't hear her name." Kirika drooped as she said that.

"Well, hardly surprising really." Yoruichi said calmingly, "You two had only just met, after all. Once we have your memory problem sorted out, me'n'Tessai'll start training you up, then you'll have plenty of chances to bond with her."

"Y-you will?!" Kirika gasped.

"Yep. Been a while since I've had a student, but it should be just like riding a bike." Yoruichi grinned cockily, "Have you checked out your clothes yet?"

"Huh?" Kirika looked down at her body and discovered that she now wore the garb of a Soul Reaper, "Wow!"

"Yeah. Interesting thing is the bandoliers you have." the werecat pointed out the pair of white belts that hung off of Kirika's shoulders, crisscrossing across her chest and resting on her hips.

"What are they?" the redhead asked.

"Kisuke thinks they have something to do with your power, the one that prevents access to your Inner World." the Flash Goddess said, "He also theorises that they might have something to do with your true Zanpakutō, but he can't be certain."

"He really thinks about things a lot." the newly minted Soul reaper said with a scrunched up expression on her face.

"Yeah, that's Kisuke for you." the older woman snorted, "He thinks more than he should. His poor Benihime must be frustrated."

"Beni…hime?" Kirika cocked her head to one side, "Is that his Zanpakutō's name?"

"Yep. The Crimson Princess. Nasty if you get on her bad side." Yoruichi said with a feigned shudder.

"What about you? Do you have a Zanpakutō?" Kirika asked curiously.

"I was a captain, so yes I do." Yoruichi replied, "I haven't touched her in over a century though."

"Why? I feel bad for your sword if that's the case." the girl said with a frown.

"Eh...it isn't a big thing really." the werecat said with a shrug, "I was the Commander of the Onmitsukidō, as well as the Captain of Squad 2. The only time I was permitted to draw my sword outside of training was when I was punishing someone. That's what the Commander drawing their blade means to the Soul Society, you see. So I just got into the habit of using Hohō and Hakuda to the exclusion of all else. I still have her, but I'm out of the habit of using Zanjutsu."

"What about Tessai-san?"

"He was the Commander of the Kidō Corps, so he focussed on using Bakudō and Hadō." Yoruichi replied.

"So…the person who is going to teach me Zanjutsu is the person with the scariest Zanpakutō, Urahara-san." Kirika concluded.

"Eh…didn't think of it like that." Yoruichi admitted, "We'll have to see. Anyway, Tessai's making some grub, so let's see what he's cooked up for us, shall we?"

While Yoruichi and Tessai kept Kirika busy, Urahara was sitting in a living room facing two people he had known for the last five years.

One was a woman with long orange hair and a kind look about her, while the other was a male with short-cut black hair and a ruggedly handsome face.

"Alright Kisuke, waddya want?" the man asked, "We had to put Karin and Yuzu down for their nap early because you showed up."

"Isshin, be nice." the woman chided him, "I'm certain Urahara-san wouldn't show up unannounced like this if it wasn't important."

"Masaki…" Isshin sighed, "OK, I'll be patient. Now, what has you all up in a tizzy?"

"Aizen has started to move." the shopkeeper said seriously. Masaki and Isshin's eyes widened as Urahara then went on to describe Kirika's arrival, what he had gleaned from her, what conclusions the three Captains at the Urahara Shōten had come to based on that and Kirika's problem.

"That poor girl…" Masaki said softly.

"Yoruichi's looking after her." Urahara assured the former Quincy, "She and Tessai are already planning her training."

"Training?!" she exclaimed, "She's been through hell, almost literally, and those two are planning to train her?!"

The shopkeeper sighed. "Masaki-san, I would rather keep her out of it myself, but she is determined to train to get stronger. She is showing all the signs of Survivor's Guilt, on top of self-hatred, depression and despair. She needs _something_ to keep the guilt she feels from dragging her under, and training is what she wants. Besides, Yoruichi is looking forward to teaching the girl."

"Why come here and tell us this?" Isshin asked quietly.

"Because she needs something besides training, as your lovely wife was about to point out to me." Urahara replied, "The Bakudō that she's going to be hit with will seal all of Shiba Kaien's memories until she is old enough to withstand them. Once it's in place, she will be trained. But Tessai, Yoruichi and myself are hardly parenting material and we are used to having the Shōten to ourselves and she'd likely learn bad habits."

"Like putting _white wine _into curry." Isshin muttered.

"That was one time!" Urahara pouted, "Anyway, I would ask that you consider adopting her. She lost her family twice. I propose that giving her a custom built Gigai and giving her a new family will balance out her vengeance-driven impulses and stop her from going after Hollows willy-nilly as training."

"Are you sure that Aizen hasn't done anything to her that might threaten our family?" Isshin asked.

"As best that I and Tessai can tell, aside from numerous implantations and modifications, the Hollow is the only thing that would be of concern and the fact it hasn't shown itself yet leads me to believe that the presence of Nejibana is suppressing the Hollow and will continue to do so until her real Zanpakutō emerges." Urahara replied, "By the time that happens, she should be in her teens. If necessary, I'll bring in the Visored to help deal with her Hollow then."

"…Masaki?" Isshin asked quietly.

The former Echt Quincy looked Urahara straight in the eyes. "I will agree to adopt her…but she is not to be trained. She is far too young."

"She would refuse to be adopted if she isn't allowed to train." Urahara sighed, "She believes that avenging her friends is the sole reason she is alive and, let me tell you something, she _needs_ to be trained thanks to the presence of Nejibana within her."

"Ah. He has a point, dear." Isshin pointed out, "If she doesn't at least learn to rein in her Reiatsu, she could hurt Yuzu and Karin."

"What about Ichigo?" Urahara asked curiously, knowing of their eldest child.

"He can see spirits already." Masaki said quietly, "At his current rate of development, he'll become stronger than I was in High School at the age of ten. He seems to subconsciously control his Reiatsu around me and the girls though."

The exiled captain's eyes widened. Masaki had been an exceptionally powerful Quincy before the Hollow had attacked her and her son was _already_ catching up to her former strength?

"I see…you might want to have him practice meditation then." he said, carefully concealing his reaction to that revelation, "The fact remains that Kirika-chan needs to be taught how to restrain her Reiatsu, at the very least. A logical extension of that would be basic Bakudō and Hadō. We could put off any physical training until she's older, say ten, but she will badger me every time she sees me for more training."

Masaki was silent for a moment. "Very well. How will we explain her disappearances every time she needs a new Gigai?"

"I've been toying with the idea of one that ages at the human rate for a while now." the scientist replied, "Thanks to Aizen's…modifications, I believe her soul will age at the human rate, until she is fully mature at least, so this will give her the illusion of a regular human life."

"Kurosaki Kirika…" Isshin mused, "It has a nice ring to it."

Masaki smiled at her husband. "I agree. Very well then. Let us adopt a third daughter. When will we be able to meet her?"

"Once we have dealt with Kaien's memories, taught her basic Reiatsu control and I have built the Gigai." Kisuke said firmly, "Call it a month. That'll give you enough time to fabricate a story for Ichigo-kun."

"We're looking forward to it." Masaki said with a smile.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_The Next Day…_

_Underground Training Room, Urahara Shōten_

Yoruichi stood with her arms crossed as an unconscious Kirika, stark naked save for a loincloth, was gently placed atop a raised table in the centre of the underground room by Tessai.

"Is it _really_ necessary for her to be naked?" the werecat asked sceptically.

"The Bakudō we are about to perform on her requires the target be marked with ink, Yoruichi-dono." Tessai explained somewhat apologetically, "It is the only way we could come up with to specifically designate Shiba Kaien-shi's memories without sealing Kirika-kun's memories or interfering with Nejibana's link with her."

The woman huffed. "If either of those are affected by this spell, I'll have a new pair of scratching posts for when I'm in my cat form."

"That's exactly why I triple checked the formulae not a minute ago." Tessai replied firmly, "I do not wish for my new student to be shorn of her memories before her first lesson with me."

This simple statement made Yoruichi grin. Tessai was an excellent teacher, able to drum complicated topics down into terms anyone could understand, as well as possessing the patience of a saint. The one quality that most people missed about the ever-polite and calm man was that he loved to teach. Passing his knowledge on to others was a passion for the man and it was plain to the Shihōin Princess that her other childhood friend had missed teaching more than he missed the Soul Society.

"Ara, are we all ready?" Kisuke asked as he sauntered into the room.

"Everything's ready, manager." Tessai reported.

"Good. Then let's begin." the blond-haired man said , "Tessai, you start off and I'll come in on the second verse."

"Hai." Tessai slammed his hands together twice, as if he was praying at a Shrine before he began to chant the words to the first verse of the new Bakudō he and Urahara had created, in record time.

"_**Kurayaminonakade Kagayaku ni Hōseki. Kenmeina Hito ni Kagayaku. Kage wa Sorera o Haaku shi Daichi no Saishin Dōkutsu-gun Yadoru dare ga Kare ni Sorera o Toru Tame ni Sashinoberu! Bakudō #69, Shokyoku: Kioku Kashu! (Twin Jewels Shining in the Darkness. Shining to those who are Wise. Shadows reach out to Grasp them and take them to He who dwells in the Deepest Caverns of the Earth. Way of Binding Number Sixty-Nine, First Song: Memory Singer!)**_"

As Tessai spoke, Kirika's body levitated up off of the table and a dozen tiny brushes emerge from Tessai's apron pockets and drew a bewildering series of geometric shapes and patterns across almost every part of her skin.

'_This has to be one of _the_ most complicated-looking Bakudō I've ever seen, and Tessai is ranking it at number _sixty-nine_?!_' Yoruichi thought incredulously.

"Manager, the first stage is complete." Tessai announced.

"Right then. Let's get to it." Urahara said as he clapped once and then pointed his clenched fists at Kirika before he and Tessai started chanting the next part of the Bakudō in unison.

"_**Kyū Kashu ga Kanakirigoe. Yūyami no Kioku Keimusho ga Umareru. Kage ni Fuyōna no Sōshin, Hikari ga Shinu. Bakudō #69, Nikyoku: Keimu Uta! (Nine Singers Shrieking. A Memory Prison of the Dusk is born. Sending the Unwanted into the Shadows, the Light dies. Way of Binding Number Sixty-Nine, Second Song: Prison Song!)**_"

With every word spoken by the two men, one of the ink designs on the girl started to glow with a white light. When they finished the chant, roughly three quarters of them were glowing.

"Last verse." Urahara muttered.

"_**Jōmyōna Doryoku kara Umare Yamayama. Kokoro ni Umare Handan no Yōsai wa, Jiko o Surutameni. Sore wa Toshi no Tsūka o Taemashou! Bakudō #69, Shūkyoku: Jigen Hōshutsu Jō!**_ _**(Mountains born from Mortal Effort. A Fortress of Determination, Born in the Mind, to Guard Oneself. Let it Endure the Passing of the Years! Way of Binding Number Sixty-Nine, Finale: Timed-Release Lock!)**_"

With a final surge of light, the ink faded away from Kirika's body, its job done. The young Soul Reaper floated back down to the stone table and lay there calmly.

"Whew…that was a lot harder than I assumed." Urahara said as he wiped his brow.

"How so?" Yoruichi asked as she checked Kirika over.

"There were more memories that merely Kaien-shi's to seal away." Tessai explained, "The second Verse should have sealed all of the designated memories; evidently the Hollow's memories are present there as well."

"Damn…" the werecat looked down at Kirika with a bit of pity in her eyes, "She keeps getting more shit dumped on top of her, doesn't she?"

"Yep." Urahara said with another sigh, "Luckily for us, we made that third verse as a precaution, but seriously, that was unexpected."

"We overlooked the possibility of the Hollow having more than a slight presence in her mind." Tessai said firmly, "Despite the fact that her Inner Hollow is being suppressed by the presence of Nejibana, the memories of the Hollow Metastacia are separate from that. We were too confident."

"Well, at least you dealt with the memories." Yoruichi said comfortingly, "Now, let's get sleeping beauty here into bed; she's going to need all the sleep she can get once we begin training her."

The smile the purple-haired woman gave made the two men flashbacks of the training they had undergone with each other in the Soul Society with her as they grew up in the Shihōin mansion, making them subtly shudder in remembrance.

Yoruichi was generally speaking a kind woman, but when it came to training, she was a drill sergeant of the worst kind when she got into it. It had been fortunate that all three of them had been skilled with Kaidō (Healing Kidō), otherwise Unohana Retsu would have had some pointed questions for them once she had finished healing them up.

"Just remember, Yoruichi, no serious physical training until she's ten at the earliest." Urahara said.

"Yeah, yeah." the werecat waved at him before she gently picked up Kirika and _**Shunpo'd**_ to the room Tessai had made for Kirika for use when she stayed with them.

"Ara, ara…she's getting maternal again…" Urahara muttered.

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_One Month Later…_

_Kurosaki Family Clinic and Home…_

Kurosaki Ichigo wasn't entirely sure what was going on here. Not long ago, he had been upgraded from 'only child' to 'big brother of twin girls' and he thought that both of his sisters were adorable. Now his Kaa-san and Tou-san were behaving strangely again, just like before they told him he'd have sisters in a few months time.

"Waa!" Yuzu, wrapped in a blanket on one side of him, started to cry and the orange-haired five-year-old played with her to calm her down. Then he had to do the same on the other side for Karin.

"Ichigo." The boy looked up when he heard his mother speak and smiled at her.

Masaki was so happy to see her son settling into his role as big brother to his new sisters. She had always wanted to have a large family, but she doubted that whoever she would have married in the Quincy Echt society would have wanted more than a son. Now she had a handsome son and two beautiful daughters, and was about to add another daughter to the mix.

"Your father and I were contacted by the lawyer of an old friend not long ago." she said, giving her son the cover story she, Isshin and Urahara had worked out, "He and his family passed away in an accident, apart from a girl a bit younger than you are now. In their will, we were asked to take her in."

"So…I'm getting another little sister?" Ichigo asked for confirmation.

"Yes, but she is very fragile at the moment. She misses her Kaa-san, Tou-san and siblings a lot, so be gentle with her, OK?" Masaki said firmly.

"Hai, Kaa-san!" Ichigo said with a wide smile. He loved his Kaa-san and if she told him to treat his new sister gently, gently she would be treated.

From the door, Isshin watched his son and wife interact with a soft smile. He had been forced to become the head of the Shiba Clan after Kaien's death because Kūkaku had been to broken up by her brother's death to care about anything other than her grief. Ganju was far too young, so that left Isshin, the eldest member of the branch family of the Shiba Clan, the little-known Kurosaki Clan, to ascend to the headship.

He had hated it, but agreed for the good of the family. Then he had become a Captain in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Urgh, the sheer paperwork involved was mind-numbing! Add that all together and that was one of the main reasons he had charged off to the World of the Living when reports of a Menos Grande-class Hollow came to him.

There, he had met his future-wife. He didn't regret saving her at the cost of being unable to use his Soul Reaper powers. A person's life was more important than any kind of powers any day of the week. And the sacrifice had given him three beautiful children.

The doorbell rang, making Isshin jump. "Masaki! Sounds like our third daughter has arrived!" he called as he answered the door.

Masaki picked up Yuzu and Karin and cooed at them as she waited for their new daughter, Ichigo sitting next to her fidgeting as he waited.

A moment later, Isshin walked in, followed by a dark-skinned purple-haired woman in a shirt and a skirt, who was holding the hand of a small redheaded girl.

She had her long red hair in a plait down her back and wore shorts and a t-shirt. She looked at Ichigo and Masaki shyly before returning her gaze to her sandaled feet.

"C'mon, Kirika-chan." the woman muttered, "Introduce yourself."

"A-ano…I'm…Kirika. Nice to meet you?" she half-asked, half-stated as she shuffled in place.

Ichigo decided to break the ice, so he stood and walked over to her. Kirika's eyes flew open as she felt how strong he was. He had the comparative Reiatsu of a Tenth Seat in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!

"I'm Ichigo!" the orange-haired boy introduced himself, "My name means 'First Guardian' and I'm your new Big Brother!"

"A-Aniki?" she asked quietly.

"Yup!" Ichigo smiled.

"M-My name…means 'Mist Fire'…nice to meet you." Kirika said with a small smile that made the adults smile at each other. Ichigo grabbed her hand and pulled her over to his mother, who was still sat down.

"This is our Kaa-san and our little sisters." he said excitedly, "Karin and Yuzu."

"'Karin' means 'Summer Pear' or 'Fire Wheel'." Masaki said with a fond smile at Karin, "We haven't finished deciding how to write Yuzu's name yet. I'm Masaki, although Kaa-san works as well."

"…'True…Bloom'?" Kirika asked softly.

"Aren't you smart? Yes, that's what my name means." Masaki said with a smile, "Isshin, that's Tou-san to you, his name means 'one heart/mind'. Practically a prophecy that he'd be a doctor."

"Masaki…!" Isshin whined.

Kirika giggled. By the looks of things, she'd enjoy living here. A family…something she thought she'd never have again. A warm feeling grew inside her as she realised she wasn't alone anymore.

Within Kirika's Inner World, Nejibana looked on with a smile as the water in the pool began to flow down the channels that led all over the landscape of the mindscape.

_*It's about time.*_ she muttered. Now maybe she could see about persuading Kirika to put a house here…

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**Next Chapter: The Substitute**

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	3. The Substitute

**Author's Note: Yo. Here's Chapter 3. Read, Review and check out my other Stories.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

"Rukia" - Regular Speech

'_Ichigo_' - Thoughts

_*Kaien-dono*_ - Zanpakutō speech/thoughts

"_**Bankai!**_" - Spiritual Technique

**Chapter 3: The Substitute**

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_**We stand in awe of that which cannot be seen.**_

_**And we respect, with every fibre, that which cannot be explained.**_

_**-Kuchiki Rukia**_

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_Ten Years Later…_

_A Street, Karakura Town_

The five street punks were pissed off.

Well, to be exact, _four_ of them were pissed off. The fifth _would _have peen pissed off as well, but he had been KO'd. He had been one-shotted by the lone schoolboy wearing the grey uniform of Karakura High School that stood in front of them, looking irritated.

His loud orange hair was like a red flag to a bull to these street punks, and the surely grim expression on his face didn't exactly help matters.

"You've got a lot of nerve kid!" the apparent leader of the group growled angrily, "You just randomly kick Yama-chan into the street and then have the nerve to order US to get out of the way!"

"Ehhhh…" the 'kid' grumbled as he scratched his head.

"Don't just stand there going 'ehhh', say something, you little-!" the leader snarled as he started a slow, but powerful, punch at the kid.

{Wham!}

Long before it connected, the schoolboy's right leg shot out and slammed into the head of the punk, knocking him to the ground.

"Toshirin!" one of his friends called out in worry.

The schoolboy then proceeded to stomp on the fallen punk a few times to make sure he stayed down.

"I can't believe Toshirin's getting his ass kicked like this!" one of the punks said in disbelief.

"This is really bad!" another said.

"That's just messed up!" the last conscious one said, wincing as the boy stamped on Toshirin's head.

"Quit yer yakking!" the orange-haired boy barked in irritation as he finished 'pacifying' Toshirin, "All of you idiots…look at that!"

He pointed at a nearby lamppost, where a bottle filled with water and flowers was lying on its side, having apparently been knocked over at some point.

After giving the punks a moment to observe the bottle, the boy raised one finger.

"Question One!" he declared, "What the hell is that? You, in the middle!"

"Um…an offering for the kid who died in a car accident recently…?" he said hesitantly.

"Absolutely Correct!" the kid shouted as he kicked the guy in the jaw.

"Ah! Mit-chan!" one of the two remaining punks cried.

"So then…why exactly would the bottle have fallen over?" the kid asked roughly.

"Err...ah…we were…skateboarding and kinda...knocked it over…?" one of them replied.

"Correct!" With a flurry of kicks, the two punks were sent flying by the abnormally strong schoolboy, "I dare you to do it again!"

At this, the boy's already intimidating aura turned into a demonic one that promised pain if he was crossed as he said, "If you do…_**I'll make it so people start laying flowers for you bastards too!**_"

"Gyaaaaaa!" the punks shrieked. They grabbed their KO'd friends and beat feet as they shouted, "We're sorrrryyyy!"

Left alone, the boy grumbled, "Tch. Idiots. I scared them quite a bit so they probably won't come back here anytime soon."

He turned around to look at the lamppost where, in his vision, the spirit of a young girl appeared. "I'll bring some fresh flower for you tomorrow, OK?"

"Thank you for chasing them away, Onii-chan. Now I can try to finally rest in peace." the girl replied with a smile.

"Don't mention it." the boy said as he picked up the bottle and set it upright, "See you tomorrow then. And hurry up and go to heaven."

As he began to walk off, a familiar voice spoke up, "You really taught them a lesson, Ichigo no Aniki."

From around a corner, a girl appeared. She was a couple of inches shorter than the boy, Ichigo, was. Her long red hair was styled in a pigtail, which reached down to the small of her back. She wore the female uniform of Karakura High and had her schoolbag in one hand, her bokken in the other and a grin on her face as her pale jade eyes looked at Ichigo.

"Kirika." Ichigo sighed, "Didn't I tell you to head straight home? Today's the day you're heading to your sensei's place for a month, right?"

"Aniki, I've been packed for the last two days." Kirika replied, "Besides, you never know when those idiots might try to do something stupid, so I have to make sure you don't get in over your head."

"Who's the older sibling here exactly?" Ichigo muttered as he rolled his eyes, "Fine, let's go home then."

Kirika fell in beside her brother as they started to head towards their home.

In her mind, Kirika was happy to be with her brother. She thought back over the last decade she had spent with her new family after Urahara and Yoruichi had sealed Kaien's memories.

Yuzu and Karin were adorable sisters who she loved unreservedly. Ichigo was a protective big brother who she could rely on. Things would have been perfect, where it not for that incident six years ago.

The redhead snuck a look at Ichigo and sighed mentally. Six years ago, Ichigo had been attacked by a Hollow on the way back from his Karate lessons. Masaki had thrown herself in front of it and been devoured instead.

She had desperately wanted to tell her brother not to blame himself and to explain Hollows to him, but Yoruichi and Urahara had prevailed upon her not to for some reason. She had fought the decision, but had given in when the Isshin had asked her as well.

After that, Ichigo had withdrawn from his family somewhat. He had become colder and had hidden his emotions from everyone, donning the mask of an irritable loner. It had taken concerted effort over the course of three years on the parts of herself and Arisawa Tatsuki, his childhood friend and sparring partner at karate, to draw him somewhat out of his shell.

The girls had changed as a result of the death of their mother as well. Yuzu had taken over most of the household chores and become something of a surrogate mother to the rest. Karin had become dry and blunt. For her own part,…she didn't understand how losing something for a second time hurt so much more than it had the first time.

As for Isshin…he had become a regular fool. Immature, childish and irredeemably an idiot, he constantly attacked Ichigo from dawn to dusk. She had spotted the telltale signs of the Soul Reaper Art of _**Hakuda (White Hits)**_ in his attacks, which had led to her confronting him alone one time when she was twelve.

'_I can't tell you now, Kiri-chan._' he had said with a pat on her head, '_When the time comes, I'll tell you and Ichigo everything. Until that time, just trust me._'

She hadn't liked it, but she had bowed to his wishes. She had just put more effort into her training sessions with Tessai-sensei and Yoruichi-sensei.

A small smile graced her face as she thought of those two. She was getting stronger by leaps and bounds compared to a regular student at the Shinōreijutsuin, according to Yoruichi at least.

Her _**Zanjutsu (Art of the Sword)**_ was good, her _**Hakuda**_ was even better. She still needed a bit of work on her Kidō (Demon Way), but Tessai-sensei had told her she was at Seated Officer-Level Kidō.

Her _**Hohō (Step Method)**_ was in dire need of improvement by contrast, but she was working hard at it and could at least use Shunpo without much trouble, although Yoruichi could dance around her like a ballerina around a rhino by comparison.

"What's with the smile?" Ichigo asked her.

"I'm looking forward to going on my leave of absence." she replied honestly, "My senseis are tough, but I really enjoy learning from them."

"They'd have to be good with the improvements you make every time you go on an extended training trip with them." her brother replied with a fond smile at her, "You came in first place in that kendo completion, didn't you?"

"Aniki, it wasn't just a kendo completion, it was the Regional kendo Championship." Kirika rolled her eyes at her brother as they came up to the Kurosaki Clinic, "Better get ready; the old man's probably gonna jump kick you again."

"Damn Oyaji…" Ichigo grumbled, "Stand back."

Letting Ichigo move ahead, Kirika waited for the usual hullabaloo between the two to begin.

She wasn't disappointed.

As Ichigo entered the living room and called out, "I'm home…", a foot lashed out of nowhere and smashed into the side of his face.

"You're late!" Kurosaki Isshin bellowed.

Ichigo landed on his shoulders with his legs sprawled out in a heap as his father stood over him triumphantly. Isshin hadn't changed all that much in the last decade, except with his personality.

"You delinquent!" Isshin scolded his son, "You know dinner is served in this family at seven o'clock sharp!"

"Why you…!" Ichigo flipped himself onto his feet and went nose-to-nose with Isshin, "Is this any way to treat your own son, especially as he just helped a poor ghost pass over!?"

Kirika slipped past the two arguing males and went over to greet her sisters.

"Hey 'Rin-chan, 'Zu-chan." she said with a smile.

"Welcome home, Kiri-nee." Karin greeted her as she started to tuck in to the food.

"Are you going to have dinner with us before you head out, Kiri-nee?" Yuzu added as she bustled around the kitchen, "And you two, stop fighting! Dinner's getting cold."

Karin, her black hair trimmed to a couple of inches below her ears and wearing a soccer t-shirt and shorts, regarded her twin with a sigh. "Just ignore them Yuzu. More rice please."

"But Karin-chan…" Yuzu, the softhearted girl that she was, looked conflicted at this.

{Wham!}

With one final kick, Ichigo sent Isshin flying headfirst into the wall and started ranting about how stupid it was to restrict a healthy Highschool student to a 7:00 curfew.

"Aniki, another one's tagged along." Kirika sighed.

Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see the spirit of an ordinary salary man floating over his head.

"Oi! Get lost!" Ichigo barked irritably as he lashed out at the ghost, trying to get rid of it, "No matter how many times I get rid of them, they just keep. Coming. Back!"

"Thanks for the food." Karin said before turning in her chair to view her brother fighting the ghost, "Poor Ichi-nii. He's too damn popular with the dead."

"I sorta envy Ichi-nii and Kiri-nee." Yuzu said with a pout, "I can sense ghosts, but I can't see them all the time."

"I don't believe in ghosts." Karin stated firmly.

"Eh? But Karin-chan, you can see them too, can't you?" Yuzu asked in surprise, "The only one who can't is Tou-san."

"Whether I can see them or not, if I don't believe in them, they don't exist." Karin stated bluntly.

"So cold!" the ghost shivered.

"'Zu-chan, can you pack up some leftovers for me in a Bento box?" Kirika asked as she ruffled Karin's hair. Karin only let Kirika and Ichigo treat her like a kid, but she still grumbled about it.

"Hai." Yuzu leapt up and started packing food into a box.

Isshin, taking advantage of Ichigo dropping his guard, attacked him again, but was thrown off and defeated by a cross counter when he tried a right straight.

"Winner by KO, Aniki!" Kirika declared.

"Geez! I'm off to bed!" Ichigo grumbled and stomped off.

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu called after him before the door slammed shut.

"Oyaji, you really have to start moderating how much you attack Aniki." Kirika said severely as Isshin leapt to his feet as if Ichigo hadn't slammed a fist to his face, "He'll really hurt you if you keep this up."

"Old man, it's your entire fault." Karin agreed with her elder sister.

"Why?!" Isshin asked pitifully.

"You seriously have to ask?" Kirika shook her head as she grabbed her bento from Yuzu, "Well, I'm off. 'Rin-chan, keep the old man off of Aniki until the morning or Aniki'll throw Yagi-men (Goat Face) into the river again."

"Hai. Got it Kiri-nee." Karin nodded, "Have fun with your Sensei. I'm looking forward to meeting her one of these days."

"Sensei's looking forward to your twelfth birthday too." Kirika said with a grin as she picked up a backpack that she had placed in a cupboard that morning, "Yuzu, you're coming with too."

"But I don't wanna learn to fight." Yuzu whined.

"It isn't learning how to fight; it's learning how to stop someone from hurting you." Kirika countered, "You two are going to be beautiful women when you grow up and you're adorable right now. I want you to be able to protect yourself."

"Kirika's right honey." Isshin said with a nod, "I know you hate the idea of hurting people, but Kirika, Ichigo and myself would prefer they get hurt rather than you two. Just give it a try on your birthday, OK?"

"OK, Tou-san." Yuzu sighed reluctantly.

"Well, I'm off. Ja ne." Kirika waved as she left and then yelled, "See you later Aniki!"

"See ya!" Ichigo called back.

Kirika headed out the door and started walking. When she reached an ally, she ducked into it and reached into her backpack and pulled out a brown hooded cloak, she fastened it over herself and raised the hood over her head before vanishing in the blur of a _**Shunpo**_. She flashed into existence at the top of a building a few hundred meters down the road, before vanishing again.

The Kurosaki Clinic and home was in the _Minamikawase_ area of Karakura Town. To get to the Urahara Shōten in the _Mitsumiya_ area would involve crossing the Karasu River and then the rest of Karakura, as it was on the opposite side of the town.

She really didn't feel like traipsing through the streets and have to fight off street punks who came on to her, so she took the scenic route. With the special Reiatsu-dampening cloak that Urahara had thoughtfully provided to her, the only way the Soul Reaper assigned to Karakura Town could find her was to spot her visually, and she could sense that the Soul Reaper was busy fighting a Hollow somewhere in _Karakura Honchou_.

'_Odd…this Reiatsu is strangely familiar…_' Kirika thought with a frown, '_It isn't Yoruichi-sensei, Tessai-sensei or Urahara-san, so who can it be?_'

Shrugging off the sensation of familiarity, Kirika continued moving towards the Urahara Shōten, finally appearing in front of the unassuming shop in a blur.

Silently striding forwards, she rapped on the door and waited. A short moment later, the door was opened by the small redheaded boy called Jinta who either worked part-time for Urahara or was his surrogate son. Kirika wasn't quite sure which one it was.

"Oh. It's you." the brat said rudely.

"Mind your elders." she chided him as she bopped him on the head as she passed him.

"Violent woman." he muttered.

"Jinta-kun, do you want any of your allowance this week?" Tessai rumbled as he walked into the front room, "Kirika-kun, it is good to see you. Is your family well?"

"As well as can be expected, Tessai-sensei." Kirika replied as she removed her cloak and stuffed it into the backpack again, "Oyaji's driving Aniki mad with his constant attacks, Yuzu's worried about Aniki and Karin is as well, despite the fact she hides it better."

"Oh? What is wrong with your brother?" Tessai asked.

"Recently, more and more spirits have been drawn to Aniki's growing Reiryoku." Kirika said with a frown, "It's making him more stressed out than normal."

"His Reiatsu is especially dense as well." Tessai noted, "I can feel it from here. It's roiling like a turbulent sea and attracting Hollows. Have you managed to persuade him to meditate?"

"Yeah, a bit." Kirika nodded, "He isn't sold on the fact it can help him out, so he isn't doing it much. It would really help if I could tell him about Soul Reapers and Hollows, you know!"

"The manager doesn't wish you to tell that information to your brother without just cause." Tessai repeated his part of the argument they had had on the subject for the last six years.

"I'm getting really sick of being given the run-around, Tessai-sensei." Kirika growled, "I've been told that you all have a plan of some kind, but you all refuse to tell me anything about it."

"I understand that it is frustrating, but you must trust in our judgement, Kirika-kun." Tessai said firmly, "Even I do not know the entirety of the manager's plan as he keeps quite a bit to himself."

"Yeah…I know." Kirika sighed in defeat, "But seriously…I want to go Hollow hunting. I'm strong enough to take a regular one on, no problem."

"We shall see at the end of this month." Tessai said neutrally, "Now then, it is time for Kidō practice. I think you have earned the right to learn another offensive Kidō by now. Which would you like to learn out of _**Hadō # 31, Shakkahō **_and_** Hadō # 33, Sōkatsui (Way of Destruction Number Thirty-Three: Blue Fire, Crash down)**_?"

"_**Sōkatsui**_." Kirika said immediately. She already knew _**Hadō #4, Byakurai**_, but that was the extent of her knowledge of _**Hadō**_.

"Very well. Let us descend to the training room." Tessai said with a nod.

As they climbed down the ladder, Kirika was not happy. She was being jerked around like a marionette on strings by the people at the Urahara Shōten, and she didn't appreciate the sense of not being in control of her own actions at all.

"Where's Yoruichi-sensei and Urahara-san?" she asked as she noted the fact she hadn't been glomped by the werecat as soon as she set foot in the Training Room.

"The manager is in his lab conducting an experiment of some sort, while Yoruichi-dono is out on the prowl." Tessai replied, "Now, _**Sōkatsui **_can be a powerful _**Hadō**_, despite it only being number thirty-three. The amount of _**Reiryoku**_ you put into the initial build up determines how powerful the Kidō is. The blast can be a wave of destruction if a sufficient amount of Reiatsu is put into it. Observe."

He held out his hand and a blue orb appeared in his hand and launched itself at a rock. It became a stream of energy that slammed into a rock and cracked it.

"That was at low power." Tessai explained, "Now, _this_ is what a powerful _**Sōkatsui**_ can accomplish."

He raised his hand yet again and the blue orb of light appeared again, only this time, it glowed brighter and was larger than the previous one. When Tessai shot it off, it became a mighty blast that smashed into the other side of the training room with a loud smash after pulverising several rocks that were in its path.

"Kami." Kirika breathed. She was stunned. Tessai hadn't even said the _name_ of the _**Hadō**_ as he fired it, let alone the incantation that people normally required in order to use it.

'_As one would expect from the former Commander of the __Kidō Corps._' she thought.

"Now, I will teach you the incantation." Tessai said, "Kindly vacate your Gigai."

Kirika sighed and undid the tie that held her hair together in its pigtail, prompting a small ring to fall out of it. Grabbing it, the redhead pressed it to her forehead and released her Soul Reaper form.

Urahara had created it based on the same technology as the Gokon Tekkō (Soul-Apprehension Gauntlet). He had tried to call it the 'Urahara Yajū Kaijo Yubiwa' (Urahara Wild Beast Releasing Finger Ring), but Yoruichi had beaten him up and called it the Gokon Yubiwa instead.

Kirika's Shihakushō had grown with her, which was a relief as she didn't know where one got replacements. The odd pair of bandoliers that were part and parcel of her outfit were still puzzling Urahara, which drove him half-mad with frustration.

As Tessai taught her the incantation, Kirika dismissed her irritation with the three Soul Reaper exiles of the Urahara Shōten, as it would only get in the way of her learning the Kidō.

Once Tessai was satisfied with her recitation of the incantation, he told her to try it out at a low power level.

Raising her hand to point at a rock, Kirika began the incantation.

"_**Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, banshō, habataki, hito no na o kansu mono yo! Shinri to sessei, tsumi shirame yume no kabe ni wazuka ni tsume o tate yo! Hadō #33, Sōkatsui! (Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Way of Destruction Number Thirty-Three, Blue Fire, Crash Down!)**_"

She had put a moderate amount of _**Reiryoku**_ into it, but she didn't expect the result that she got. A large blast erupted from the orb of blue light she generated, utterly destroying the rock she targeted, as well as gouging a large trench in the ground en route.

"…Slightly too much _**Reiryoku**_ there, I would say Kirika-kun." Tessai said after a moment.

"But…I only put a middling amount into that…" Kirika said in disbelief.

"You did, but it would seem you have an affinity for fire-type Kidō." Tessai explained.

"But you keep saying I have a Flowing Water-type Zanpakutō." Kirika said in confusion.

"That has nothing to do with your Kidō affinity." Tessai explained patiently, "To actually possess an affinity for an element is very rare in the Soul Society and has almost always been an element unrelated to the abilities of the user's Zanpakutō. Kuchiki Byakuya for example has an affinity for lightning-type Kidō. His mastery of the _**Byakurai**_ is second to none."

"I…remember one memory I saw before you sealed them, of Kaien talking to Rukia." Kirika said slowly, "Her confidence was shattered by him. I dunno if I wanna be like him."

"Just because you have a similar rare skill doesn't mean you are like him." Tessai informed her, "I would dare to say that you couldn't be like Kuchiki Byakuya if you tried. You have adopted your brother's inability to not interfere with someone in trouble, regardless of the right or wrong of it. Byakuya-dono is infamous for rigidly following the strictures of the law, regardless of his personal opinion of it."

"Sounds like Kaien's memories are seeping through, eh Kirika-chan?" Urahara asked as he strolled into the room.

"I wasn't remembering one of Kaien's memories; I was remembering a memory of viewing the memory." Kirika corrected him, "You've finished with your experiment then?"

"Hai, for the moment at least." Urahara replied cheerfully, "Ara, ara, you two have certainly done a number on my training ground. Tessai, kindly fix the damage while I test Kirika-chan's Zanjutsu."

The redhead blinked. Up until now, either Tessai or Yoruichi had sparred with her and taught her the basics of Zanjutsu. Yoruichi had unearthed her Zanpakutō from somewhere, which too the shape of a kodachi with a pure black sheath and a round tsuba decorated with intertwined cats. By contrast, Tessai's Zanpakutō was a standard katana with a plain steel tsuba.

Their styles were just as different. Yoruichi's style, as benefited the former Commander of the Onmitsukidō, focussed on defeating the enemy as quickly as possible with quick, economical and precise cuts and stabs to vital locations across the body.

Tessai on the other hand favoured a defensive style that forced the enemy to go to him. While reactive, it allowed the muscled man to observe and analyze the style used by his opponent for openings and weaknesses and then exploit those openings.

Urahara had never drawn his Zanpakutō in Kirika's presence, but she remembered Yoruichi's remark that Benihime was not a pleasant Zanpakutō to be on the receiving end of, so she was rather glad that the eccentric shopkeeper had kept his sword to himself up until now.

Still, she knew that her opponents in the Soul Society wouldn't play nice with her, so Kirika drew her own Zanpakutō in preparation to spar the ex-Captain.

Despite going into Jinzen at least once a day for over a decade, she still didn't know the name of Kaien's Zanpakutō. It really irritated her that she couldn't hear her name after all this time. The Zanpakutō Spirit thought it was because they hadn't been in combat, _real_ combat with an enemy determined to do harm to them. Kirika tended to agree, but the three ex-Captains had stonewalled her suggestions of heading out Hollow hunting for combat experience.

"Why the sudden desire to fight me, Urahara-san?" she asked as the blond Soul Reaper unsheathed his blade from the cane he always carried around with him.

"I'm testing you to see if your skills are up to scratch." Urahara said as he placed the sheath of his sword to one side, "Should you pass, there is a mission that you shall accompany me on soon."

"And what do I need to pass this test of yours?" she asked warily. She could sense the restrained bloodlust rippling off of his Zanpakutō as he held it in a relaxed and easy position at his side. Despite that, there wasn't a single opening for her to attack.

"Knock my hat off my head." Urahara said as he adjusted said hat, "I agree with your premise that you haven't been able to learn your Zanpakutō's name because you haven't experienced battle, so I thought a small spar might persuade the two of you to bond more closely."

"Not going to work." Kirika shook her head at once, "Your Zanpakutō may be letting loose a lot of killing intent, but none of it is yours. As long as that remains the case, she and I will not bond in combat."

"Ara…that is a point, but you still need to knock my hat off to go on the mission." Urahara shrugged, "Tessai and Yoruichi estimate that your Zanjutsu is the equivalent to a Eighth Seat in the Guard Squads. Let's just see how accurate they are, shall we?"

Kirika nodded briskly and assumed one of the five kendo stances, the _hassō-no-kamae (All Eight Directions Stance)_,which allowed her to react to an attack from any direction, despite it being an offensive stance.

"Ahhhh…the _hassō_, eh?" Urahara said with a glint in his eye, "That might be of an advantage to you against humans, but it is of little use against a Soul Reaper or Hollow."

"Teach me how to fight them then instead of preaching!" Kirika snarled before vanishing in a blur of _**Shunpo**_. Kisuke leaned back as he dodged a double-handed horizontal chop that would have taken his hat off and cut it in two if he hadn't moved. As it was, it had missed by the barest fraction of an inch.

"Impulsive." Urahara sighed as he brought up his Sealed sword and slashed lazily at Kirika, who twisted in midair to avoid it and simultaneously slam a kick into the shopkeeper's chest to propel her away from him.

"Oh? You're a lot more flexible than I gave you credit for." the man remarked as Kirika landed on the ground a couple of meters away, "Well then…time for me to attack…"

Vanishing in his own burst of _Shunpo_, Urahara sent a fast stab straight at Kirika's heart that she was barely able to deflect at the last moment into grazing her shoulder.

Grunting in pain, Kirika reached out, grabbed Urahara's hand, and tried to swipe his hat off with her sword again. The next thing she knew, she was slamming through a rock at a ludicrous speed before she managed to recover and flip onto her feet.

"That was close." Urahara remarked, "A word to the wise, Kirika-chan, never try and grapple with the former Corps Commander of the Detention Unit of the Onmitsukidō."

"So, you finally reveal something about yourself." Kirika grumbled.

"Hai?" Urahara was nonplussed by the bitterness in her voice.

"Every day of the last decade that I've been here, I've learned lots about Tessai-sensei and Yoruichi-sensei." Kirika said, "But comparably, you never reveal anything about yourself. All I've know about you till now is that your Zanpakutō is Benihime, you were the Captain of Squad Twelve and that you can't perform basic cooking skills to save your life."

"Oi!" Urahara protested, "I can too!"

"Instant Ramen doesn't count, Urahara-san." she replied with a snort, "The point is that while I _respect_ you, I don't _trust_ you."

This plainly startled the man, but he had no time to ponder it as Kirika charged at him with her sword bared, barely giving the man time to bring up his sword. Parrying Kirika's blows, he looked her in the eye.

"Why don't you trust me?" he asked in confusion.

"How can I trust someone I don't even know well after a decade?" she hissed, "Always hiding behind a mask, always refusing to explain what this oh-so mysterious plan is you have…I am not going to dance to the tune you play for much longer without an explanation!"

'_Crap. I hate it when Yoruichi's right._' Urahara winced at the accusatory tone to her voice.

For the last year or so, the werecat had been agitating at him to stop being so standoffish to Kirika and open up a little to her. He had refused because he still had a kernel of suspicion in him that she might be an assassin of some kind that Aizen had sent to eliminate them.

When he had told the purple-haired women that, she had given him a look that he recognised from when they were just kids in the Shihōin Mansion. She had only given him that look when he had said something utterly stupid and at odds with reality.

He could easily tell that Kirika was being utterly honest thanks to his long experience at seeing through the best dissemblers and deceivers in the Soul Society. There was absolutely nothing she was hiding from him, because there was nothing to hide. Now it was getting dangerously close to the point that she might chose to go off and leave them at this crucial juncture.

Kuchiki Rukia had been sighted by Yoruichi as the newly assigned Soul Reaper of Karakura Town for the last couple of days. In addition, Kurosaki Ichigo had been in close contact with a Plus Soul today.

The Hollows would be on him like no one's business. Rukia would also be drawn to the immense, untamed Reiatsu that Ichigo subconsciously exerted. Moreover, if things took a turn for the worse, Urahara himself would step in.

He had to get Kirika back on the bandwagon and fast. First things first…

"Keep control of your anger." he told her, "Anger dulls the Zanpakutō of a Soul Reaper. Keep cool and calm."

"Anger is flowing through my blood!" she bit out, "If you had bothered to get to know me, you would know that!"

Kisuke locked blades with her and started to force her back. "Regardless of how you feel about me, you have to maintain a cool head. A blunt blade cannot cut anything, nor can it protect anything."

"I…there's too much anger…I can't control it." Kirika growled as she pushed back against Urahara, "If I was allowed to fight the Hollows, I might have an outlet for it, but as you insist on wrapping me in cotton wool, I can't even do that!"

'_Ow. I'm having my mistakes thrown in my face here._' the shopkeeper winced at that. He had made the same mistake Hirako Shinji had made with Aizen. He had distanced himself from her and not allowed her to get to know him or vice-versa, meaning he didn't know her frustrations first hand. Oh, Tessai and Yoruichi had told him of her growing frustration with them, but he had dismissed them as mere teenage rebellion.

"Ara…it looks like I have some thinking to do." he muttered.

"So hurry up and beat me already." Kirika ground out as she forcibly disengaged from him and leapt back again, panting. "You never intended for me to win in the first place, so why are you delaying it?"

Urahara raised an eyebrow at this. Since when could she read him so well?

"It isn't that hard to figure out." she snorted, interpreting his expression correctly, "If there is a mission you have to undertake, whatever it is, you want me out of commission so there isn't even the slightest chance of me finding out about it. Exhausting my Reiryoku is a good way to accomplish that, more so if you don't let Tessai-sensei use Kaidō on me afterwards."

"Well, well…you are perceptive." the former Captain made a mental note to not underestimate the deductive capabilities of the young Soul Reaper in the future, "Truthfully, it would be better for you to sit this one out, but the prize is real. Knock my hat off and you win. I will not make it easy, however…"

He raised his Zanpakutō above his head and, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, unleashed his own desire to kill from it. Benihime shrieked with delight in his ears as she was given almost full rein to fight. All she wanted now was to be released into her Shikai and things would be lovely for her.

Kirika was almost crushed by the sensation of the Captain-class Soul Reaper's desire to kill. His bloodlust was through the roof and she was having trouble breathing from the way it pressed at her. The redhead refused to retreat or collapse however.

"…damn…that's quite the desire to kill you have there…" she said as she assumed the basic kendo stance, "Looks like you finally intend to fight somewhat seriously."

"Do try and survive." Urahara remarked, "Yoruichi-san would be most upset with me for getting you killed."

With that, he flashed in and slashed her across her chest, sending her flying once again.

'…_! Damn…_" Kirika thought as her vision started to be edged with black from the shock of the pain, '_Is that it? One half-assed attack from a Captain and I fall? No…__**no**__! I will not be defeated so easily! Not as long as my revenge is incomplete!_"

Abruptly, her vision shifted and she was in her Inner World. In the past decade, statues of the people she had come to care for had appeared there, dotted around the landscape. Ichigo, the twins, Isshin, Yoruichi, Tessai, Tatsuki…they were all there. The waters flowed through the endless aqueducts and canals smoothly and without an end to the water.

_*Kirika-sama*_ the form of Kaien's Zanpakutō appeared before her, a frown on her elegant face. _*Is that the extent of your determination? Of your will to fight?*_

"He's a Captain-Class Soul Reaper." she protested, "I'm barely at the level of a Ninth Seat, if that. If he wanted to, he could cut me to pieces with his Zanpakutō, blast me with _**Hadō**_, bind me with _**Bakudō**_ or just kick me to death with _**Hakuda**_. I can't match him."

_*All of that is true.*_ the Spirit acknowledged, _*But you could still make him work for it. Yet you have given up. Look at the water in your Inner World; it is clotted with muck from your lack of resolve and it has stopped flowing due to your inability to move forward.*_

Kirika looked around and saw that it was true. The waters, usually a glowing blue, were now a dirty brown/green colour and were stagnant, not flowing at all.

_*You desire to fight Hollows and reprimand the schemer for not letting you do so, yet crumble at the first true test he gives you.*_ the disappointment in the Zanpakutō's voice cut Kirika deeply, _*Not only that, you refuse to accept me.*_

"What do you mean?" the redheaded Soul Reaper asked in bewilderment.

_*Part of the reason you cannot hear my name is our lack of combat experience together.*_ the blue-haired woman explained, _*the other part is that you do not think of me as __your__ Zanpakutō. You always mentally refer to me as being Kaien-sama's Zanpakutō.*_

"You are though." Kirika said in surprise, "I'm just the girl that was lucky enough to have the potential to have a Water or Flowing Water Zanpakutō."

_*That isn't the reason and you know it.*_ the Spirit chided her, _*You are still punishing yourself for being the sole survivor of your friends, as well as your inability to help your older brother with his grief from losing his mother. These things are not your fault and were completely out of your control. Kaien-sama would tell you so himself, accompanied by a hefty smack to your head to get the point across*_

"I…suppose so…" Kirika said hesitantly, "It's just…what right do I have to be happy, when the others aren't around to be there with me? And I should have ignored Urahara and just told Aniki about Hollows six years ago."

The Zanpakutō Spirit smiled at Kirika and drew her into a gentle hug before speaking softly. _*Your friends, from what you have told me about them and the memories I have seen of them, would be happy that you are living a life without pain and suffering and would be most horrified to think that they were preventing you from being happy._

_As to your brother…you trusted the judgement of your teachers and I personally believe it was the correct decision to make at the time. He would have blamed himself even more than he already did if you had told him a year or even two years after her death. I believe that your sensei are either too cautious or have a plan in the works for Ichigo for them to insist on keeping him in the dark this long*_

"Knowing Urahara-san, probably the latter." Kirika muttered as she enjoyed the hug of…her…Zanpakutō. "So…where do we go from here?"

_*You have to forgive yourself of the sins you believe you have committed and believe yourself worthy of possessing my power.*_ the Spirit told her, _*Then I believe you will finally be able to hear my name and Kaigo.*_

"Right…" Kirika relaxed and allowed herself to fully feel the grief and guilt that she had been hiding within herself for ten years. The emotions were almost as crushingly overpowering as Urahara's bloodlust, but she forced herself to feel them in their entirety, not hiding any of it from herself.

Then she acknowledged them. It hurt, oh dear sweet _Kami_ did it hurt, but she persevered. As her acceptance of them grew, so too did her desire to absolve herself of them. She wished that there had been something, anything she could have done ten years ago, but as she had been -a child with no knowledge of how to even use rudimentary Reiryoku control and chained with heavy manacles day and night- she had been helpless. Her surviving had been mere luck and chance, nothing more.

If one of her friends had survived rather than her, she would cheerfully tell them to live life to the fullest in her stead. She though and hoped any of the others would think the same thing, so that was what she would do…live for their sake…live her life to the fullest and avenge their senseless deaths with the power that had been gifted to her as a result of surviving!

With a shuddering breath, Kurosaki Kirika forgave herself for being helpless to help her fiends, for surviving when they had not and for being unable to help Ichigo, her beloved Aniki, recover faster from the murder of his mother.

_*Are you alright, Kirika-sama?*_ her Zanpakutō Spirit asked as she drew back from her wielder.

"I'm…fine." Kirika said quietly, "I'm just a bit emotional right now, that's all."

She wiped the tears that had escaped her eyes and looked at her Zanpakutō with a look of determination that she had not shown in ten years.

"I think I'm ready to hear s your name now, my friend."

_*Very well then…my name is…*_

**With Urahara, seconds before the strike.**

The shopkeeper sighed as he bypassed the girl's defence -which was good enough to hold off an Unseated Soul Reaper and perhaps any of the Seated positions up to the Tenth Seat- and cut her from the left shoulder to her right hip in a single, smooth motion, sending her toppling to the ground in a small eruption of blood.

She wasn't ready and hopefully this would drive the point home. He did feel bad about cutting her so deeply, but Tessai could head her up in a jiffy, so there wasn't anything to worry about.

An explosion of Reiatsu from Kirika made Urahara leap back from her, his swords held at the ready for whatever she was about to do.

Staggering to her feet, Kirika glared at him as she held her Zanpakutō out to the side, pointing at the ground as if she were about to drop it. Then, she said something that surprised him.

"_**Umisuke shite Kyūzō, Kuraku shi Ten o konran sa seru…Nejibana!**__** (Surge through the seas; Roil the darkened heavens…Spiranthes!)**_"

As she spoke, she started to twirl the sword in her hand anticlockwise, making it began to glow with a faint golden light and change form. It elongated to the length of a spear, with one end a corkscrew drill and the other a combination of a trident, a bishamon-yari and a ji. Water flowed from both ends of the trident as Kirika finally halted the spin with the corkscrew to the ground and the business end to the ceiling.

"Now…it comes for real." Kirika said firmly, "Nejibana and I are now one."

Grasping the spear with both hands, she vanished in another _**Shunpo**_, appearing just above Urahara and bringing her _**Shikai**_ down to slam upon Urahara, who swiftly blocked it with his own sword. As the weapon impacted upon his own, Urahara noted the differences between the weapons that it was amalgamated from.

Other than the spearhead, it held a crystalline appearance. The side blades were concave as opposed to the bishamon-yari's crescent moon blades. The horsehair tassel at the base of the blade was blue as opposed to the traditional ji's red. The only thing that hadn't been in Yoruichi's report of Kaien's _**Shikai**_ was the kanji on the middle blade, but it was so faint that he couldn't make it out.

Suddenly, Kirika disengaged and swung her weapon around to attack his left. This time when he blocked it, he was also hit with a small wave of ice-cold water.

This time he was he one who disengaged and held up his sword.

"_**Okiro, Benihime! (Awaken, Crimson Princess!)**_"

His Zanpakutō glowed crimson as he unleashed its _**Shikai**_. The blade turned into a medium-sized blade that was somewhere in between a katana and a kodachi in length. The overall appearance was just lightly different from that of a regular katana. Rather than a tsuba, there was a U-shaped guard to prevent someone sliding their sword along the edge and attacking the wielder's hands directly. The last two inches or so of the tsuka was bent at an angle as well.

"That is an odd looking Katana." Kirika said with a frown, "And why the heck are you releasing your Zanpakutō? I can barely keep up with you when I have my _**Shikai**_ released and you don't."

"I did say it wouldn't be easy, didn't I?" Urahara said with a grin, "Now then…_**Nake, Benihime! (Scream, Crimson Princess!)**_"

He slashed in the air, unleashing a wave of crimson energy that roared at Kirika as it flew towards her. Wide-eyed, she _**Shunpo'd**_ out of the way and counter attacked with a vertical slash at Urahara.

"_**Nake.**_" he said almost lazily, creating a hexagonal shield in front of his raised sword that stopped both the spear and the water cold. The redhead pointed her off-hand at the ex-Captain.

"_**Byakurai!**_" Kirika snarled as she sent a large blast of white lightning at him.

"_**Nake.**_" Urahara switched to the offensive version again, overwhelming the Hadō and forcing Kirika to leap into the air again and try another swipe.

"_**Kamisori, Benihime! (Razor, Crimson Princess!)**_" came from Urahara as he sent a crimson arc of energy at her, but this attack made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as her instincts screamed 'danger!' at her. She spun Nejibana away from Urahara and _**Shunpo'd**_ away.

"Not going to work." Urahara sang.

Kirika's eyes widened again when she reappeared as the crimson energy redirected itself to attack her again. She spun Nejibana one-handedly into a vortex of water in front of her as she called out the defensive technique Nejibana had given her.

"_**Buyō Kōen: Uzu no Mai! (Dance Performance: Dance of the Whirlpool!)**_"

From the whirlpool, a deluge of water erupted and slammed into the _**Kamisori**_. Both techniques struggled against one another for a moment before mutually annihilating each other in an explosion of water and crimson energy.

'_Impressive. That wasn't a full-power __**Kamisori**__, but still, she did manage to neutralise it._' Urahara thought.

But Kirika wasn't done yet. "_**Buyō Kōen: Rasen no Mai! (Dance Performance: Dance of the Helix!)**_" she commanded.

The whirlpool shrank to nothing as she pointed the tip of the spear at Urahara and started rotating Nejibana on its axis. A smaller, more condensed whirlpool formed around the spearhead before being launched at Urahara.

'_This must be her offensive technique then...let's see how good it is._' Urahara thought as he called out, "_**Nake, Benihime!**_", bringing up the his _**Chikasumi no Tate (Blood Mist Shield)**_ again.

The _**Rasen no Mai **_slammed into the _**Chikasumi no Tate**_ with a great roar, the two techniques straining against one another as their wielders battled for supremacy.

"_**Daiippo: **__**Suiryū! (First Step: Water Flow!)**_" Kirika ground out as she Shunpo'd closer to Urahara, which made the _**Rasen no Mai**_ stronger. Still the hexagonal shield withstood the attack.

"Overcome it! Nejibana!" Kirika cried.

The water began to glow a light blue and the pressure suddenly turned up…way up. It had been bearable before, but it now felt like Ikkanzaka Jidanbō, the Gatekeeper of the Hakutōmon had decided to sit atop his shield and he could see actual _cracks_ in his _**Chikasumi no Tate**_, which was frankly astounding.

'_Belief in herself and her Zanpakutō…Heh…looks like she's going to win this one…_' the shopkeeper thought. He adjusted himself just before his defensive technique failed and the _**Rasen no Mai **_writhed and roared its way at Urahara, who was just barely within its reach.

His prized green and cream hat was sucked off his head and sent flying with numerous tiny scratches and tears in it. Urahara mentally upped that attack from 'try to avoid' to 'Stay-The-Fuck-Away-At-All-Costs' as he didn't want to experience that hitting his body.

"Looks like you win, Kirika-chan." he called as the watery attack collapsed.

Kirika was looking on with disbelief. She…she had actually won?

"Kirika-chan?!" Yoruichi yelped. She had just come down the ladder at the sound of fighting going on, to see Kirika and Kisuke locked in battle with each other…both with their _**Shikai**_ out!

Kirika looked like she had been doing freestyle sparring with someone outside of her capabilities. Her Shihakushō was torn, ruffled and bloody from a cut on her arm and a long cut across her chest. Her hair was a mess and she looked utterly exhausted…yet she also looked more exhilarated than the first time she had succeeded in casting _**Bakudō #1, Sai (Way of Binding Number One, Restrain)**_ on Jinta.

"Yo…Yoruichi-sensei…" she said dizzily, "I…I unlocked Nejibana…and beat Urahara-san…"

With that, she collapsed on her back, Nejibana returning to its Sealed Form as its wielder lost consciousness. Yoruichi and Tessai were at her side in an instant.

"Tessai, heal her up and put her to bed." the werecat said quietly as her eyes bored a hole into Urahara's own, "I need to have a word with Kisuke…in private."

"Hai, Yoruichi-dono." Tessai gently picked up Kirika and took her to the living quarters.

One they were out of earshot, the Shihōin Princess unleashed her anger upon Urahara.

"What the living hell were you _thinking_, using Benihime on her like that?!" she yelled, "It was a miracle that she unlocked her _**Shikai**_ at all, but nooooo, you just _had_ to up the ante when she pulled it out! Which techniques did you use on her?!"

"_**Nake**_, _**Chikasumi no Tate **_and _**Kamisori**_." Urahara replied, "But-"

"BUT NOTHING!" the infuriated woman roared, "You know full well that sometimes Benihime goes too far when she attacks! Using _**Nake**_ is bad enough, but _**Kamisori**_? Really? She could have been killed!"

"But she wasn't." Urahara felt compelled to point that out, "Not only did she release first, she had me on the defensive when I was still using Benihime's sealed form. Granted I was fighting at the level of a Fourth Seat, but that's still impressive, wouldn't you say?"

"You…**aarrrgghh**!" the werecat half-screamed before glaring at her old friend, "Do this again and I'm scratching your eyes out and replacing them with your balls. Understood?!"

"Haaaaiiiii!" Urahara squeaked.

The woman marched off to inspect Tessai's work, leaving a sweating Urahara behind her, muttering about violent women again.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_The Next Day_

_Classroom, Karakura Highschool_

Kirika yawned as she entered the classroom. She had slept well last night, but the amount of Reiryoku she had used wasn't a small amount by any means. _**Sōkatsui**_, _**Byakurai**_, releasing Nejibana, using the two techniques that Nejibana had given her, forcing more Reiryoku into _**Rasen no Mai**_…she was still knackered and it was First Period!

"Ki-ri-ka-chan!"

All of a sudden, two female hands were grabbing her boobs and massaging them. With a tick mark on her head, the redhead delivered an elbow into the person standing behind her, forcing her to let Kirika go.

"Chizuru, how many times have I told you to not to grope my girls?" the younger Kurosaki growled as she swung around to face the most (in)famous lesbian in all of Karakura, Honshō Chizuru, who was currently gasping for breath from Kirika's blow to her ribcage. A fellow redhead, the Sapphic girl ambushed every girl she came across and leered at them through her red framed glasses. Kirika was one of her favourite targets, along with Tatsuki's best friend, Inoue Orihime.

"Ohayō, Kirika-san." Well speak of the devil. Orihime was a buxom girl with long burnt orange hair and was the number one Chizuru-groping target.

"Hime!" the fallen lesbian miraculously revived and leapt to try and grope her when…

{Wham!}

..she was struck atop her head by the furious fist of Arisawa Tatsuki, reigning Orihime Protection Squad Captain and all around Martial Arts queen.

With her short, messy black hair, Tatsuki was very much your typical tomboy, but she was a good friend and would stand by you come thick or thin.

"Ohayō, Inoue-san, Tatsu-chan." Kirika replied cheerfully, ignoring the moaning girl at their feet, "How are you two today?"

"Meh. Fine when she isn't trying anything with Orihime." Tatsuki prodded Chizuru with her toe meaningfully, "How about you, Orihime?"

"I'm good." the bubbly girl replied happily, "Kirika-chan, you look tired."

"A guest instructor dropped by my sensei's place to put me through my paces last night." Kirika lied cheerfully, "He was a real hardass, but I managed to impress him in the end."

Before anyone could say anything else, a scream of 'Ichigooooo-' was heard and then abruptly cut of in the corridor.

"Asano." She and Tatsuki sighed in unison. The rather hyperactive Asano Keigo was someone who the two girls could swear had been taught the Kurosaki Isshin-method of male bonding, thus resulting in Ichigo hitting the boy at least once a day.

A moment later, a sour looking Ichigo walked in, followed by a somewhat dazed Keigo and a placid Kojima Mizuiro. The two were exact opposites. Where Keigo was excitable, Mizuiro was calm and collected. Where Keigo was a wannabe ladies man, Mizuiro was the real deal.

"That looked like fun, eh Asano-san?" Mizuiro asked conversationally.

"Why Mizuiro, why?! We're friends!" Keigo wailed dramatically.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ishida Uryū glaring at her before taking his seat. She sighed to herself. When they had entered Highschool, Uryū had tried to challenge her to a match, but she bluntly told him that she could care less for his pride and no challenge of his would be accepted by her.

Yoruichi-sensei had explained the history of the Quincy Massacre, almost two-hundred years ago, to her, as well as the death of Uryū's grandfather, which the young Quincy had attributed to deliberate orchestration on the part of the Soul Reapers.

Personally, she actually agreed with the self-proclaimed 'Last Quincy' on the last one. Urahara had mentioned the person who had taken over the Twelfth Squad upon his exile was a man called Kurotsuchi Mayuri, who was either a sociopath or just plain insane, she couldn't tell which. It had likely been him who ordered the surveillance teams to not assist Ishida Sōken against the Hollows who killed him.

"Chad!" Keigo called as a giant of a boy entered the classroom. Sado Yasutora, known to his friends as Chad, stood literally head and shoulders above his fellow classmates. The boy was one of Ichigo's best friends and had helped him out ever since Ichigo saved his keepsake from his grandfather from some thugs.

The taciturn boy nodded a greeting to everyone before the teacher came in and called them to sit down. With much shuffling and scraping of chairs, the class came to order and the lessons for the day began again.

Kirika only half concentrated on the lessons, thinking through something that Nejibana had told her after she won her round with Urahara and she had fallen unconscious.

_*My Kaigo has changed from what it once was.*_ the Spirit had said in a perturbed way, *_It used to be '__**Suiten Sakamake**__' (__**Rankle the Seas and Heavens**__). I do not understand how or why this happened.*_

As this was only the second instance of a Zanpakutō being transferred to another person from the original wielder after their death, they were in reasonably unknown territory here. Tōsen Kaname had discarded his own Zanpakutō in order to use the blade belonging to his fallen friend, which meant it was pretty cut-and-dry.

In Kirika's case, Nejibana was suppressing her own Zanpakutō as well as the Inner Hollow that had been born in her thanks to that bastard Metastacia melding with Shiba Kaien. This was the first time such a thing had happened, ever, according to Urahara.

She suspected that, just as Nejibana might influence what her eventual Zanpakutō's abilities will be, she was slightly influencing Nejibana in return, which caused the slight change in the Kaigo, as well as the odd Kanji Urahara mentioned on the blade. She would have to examine it herself after school.

_**{Graaaaaahhhhh!}**_

Kirika shivered as she heard the screech of a hunting Hollow. Locked in her Gigai, helpless like this was not comfortable. She would be just as helpless as a regular Plus Soul if it were not for the fact she knew Kidō, _**Hakuda**_ and _**Shunpo**_.

Still, she resolved to be careful when she headed back to the Urahara Shōten after school. Maybe she could find out who this familiar Reiatsu was that was hopping around Karakura like crazy. It had to be a Soul Reaper due to how it was moving at the speed of a mediocre _**Shunpo**_ and was attacking the Hollows that were popping up left and right thanks to her Aniki's unrestrained Reiryoku.

'_This seriously has to stop soon. Tatsu-chan, Inoue-san and Chad have all been inundated with his Reiryoku because the seating arrangements put them around him. Hell, even I have some bleed over from him._' the Soul-turned-human thought anxiously, '_If this goes on, they'll either commit Soul Suicide or Hollowfy without a Zanpakutō to balance their Souls or…or they'll manifest powers to make up for the absence of the Zanpakutō! Is _that _what Urahara wants?!_'

She was torn between horror and awe at this revelation she had stumbled upon. Horror because it was a disgustingly Machiavellian tactic, to force humans into the dangerous world of the spirits long before their time.

She was in awe, because it just might work. If they developed their own, individual powers, they would be able to surprise the Thirteen Court Guard Squads with them, maybe even hold out against them, for a while at least, while the stronger members took out Aizen, Ichimaru and Tōsen.

It was brutal, heartless and the most hateful thing she could do to her friends…but she also knew that to win a war with a madman, sometimes you had to dip into the dishonourable and dastardly.

This of course made her think on. If that was what the blond ex-Captain had in mind for Ichigo's friends, what the hell did he have in mind for Ichigo?!

'_He'd better not mess with my family._' she growled to herself, '_Me, yes. My friends, at a stretch. But not my sisters or brother!_'

**After School**

**Urahara Shōten**

"Urahara!" Kirika yelled as she stomped into the small shop, brushing past Tsumugiya Ururu, the other assistant at the Shōten, a small girl with pigtails and a perpetual blush on her face.

"Ah Kirika-chan. Excellent timing." the blond man said as he looked up from some contraption or other, "The mission is in a few minutes; if you still want to come along with me, get your Reiryoku-suppressing cloak out."

"Tonight?" Kirika was derailed from her intended verbal beat-down of the man by this.

"Hai, something crucial is about to happen and we are on damage control duty." Urahara said cheerfully, "By the way…catch."

Kirika caught a blank mask. It was black, with eyeholes and no other decorations. She sent the eccentric shopkeeper a quizzical look at this.

"In case we run into any of your Spiritually Aware friends." he said simply, "Just be warned that you won't be able to talk with it on. It'll also suppress your Reiatsu for as long as you are wearing it."

The redhead blinked at this. So, not only was she going to be wearing a cloak that concealed her Reiryoku, but this mask that would mute her and prevent her building up her Reiatsu to any degree.

"What are you plotting?" she asked suspiciously.

"The first step to attacking Aizen." Urahara replied seriously, "What you'll see tonight will be hard, but do not interfere."

"What?" This was starting to piss her off.

"Trust him, Kirika." Yoruichi sighed as she leaned against the doorframe nearby, "At least, if you're still going."

Grumbling at being told off somehow by her favourite sensei, Kirika freed her Soul form from her Gigai, donned her cloak, and slipped on the black mask. It fitted over her face snugly and seemed to use a small amount of her own Reiryoku to stick to her.

Attempting to speak, she found that she couldn't, just as the ex-Captain had told her. Nodding, she pulled the hood up to complete the concealment of her Reiryoku.

"Let's go then." Urahara said cheerfully. He stood up, nodded goodbye to Yoruichi and led Kirika out of the shop. It was already becoming dark and she was glad of it, as it meant that there was little chance of being spotted by any of her friends.

"Follow me." Urahara said as he vanished in a bur. Kirika swiftly followed him but struggled to keep up. He was moving so fast that sometimes all she could see was his back in the distance. She mentally upped the priority of fine-tuning her Hohō skills from necessary' to 'urgent'.

_**{Grrrraaaaaaaaahhhhhh!}**_

She heard the shriek of a Hollow and looked around in horror. She was in Minamikawase, almost near where her family's home was!

'_Yuzu! Karin! Aniki! Oyaji!_' she thought in a panic. The Hollow Reiatsu in the air was immense and she had a very bad feeling about it as she drew closer to the Kurosaki Clinic and the feeling of Hollow Reiryoku increased with every step.

"Wait." Urahara stopped her atop the building across the street, silently casting an illusion Kidō to conceal their presence. She looked down at the street and blanched in horror. A large Fishbone-D Hollow had Karin in its grasp and her brother was charging it from the wrecked Clinic with a goddamn collapsible chair as his only weapon!

"Remember what I said." Urahara muttered to her, "Do not interfere."

She glared at him in a fury. How dare he tell her to leave her family in mortal danger of having their Souls eaten?! What does he think he's playing at?!

Below them, Ichigo got one-shotted by the Hollow and a sense of accomplishment emanated from the Negative Spirit.

"**Found you.**" it gloated at Ichigo.

Before it could so much as take a step towards him, a small black shape flew from the ruined Clinic and slashed the Hollow's arm that held Karin with a Zanpakutō…a very familiar one, along with an all too familiar wielder.

Violet eyes glaring in concentration, short black hair waving as she moved and her petite frame not grown in all the time since Shiba Kaien had seen her. Kuchiki Rukia had shown herself.

'_R…Rukia?!_' Kirika though weakly, '_What the hell are you doing in the World of the Living?_'

She was certain that her turmoil was being reflected all the way down to her Inner World right now. The woman who had saved and slain the original owner of her Zanpakutō was now trying to save her family. How ironic.

With a howl of pain, the Fishbone-D dropped Karin and Ichigo caught her deftly, the Hollow fading into the darkness as it temporarily retreated to lick its wounds.

Kirika listened as Rukia calmed Ichigo from panicking and deduced that it was because his Reiryoku had been at a low emission level that he hadn't been attacked before now, but coming into contact with the Plus Soul girl from earlier on today ('_When was this?_', Kirika wondered numbly) had allowed the Hollow just now enough of a scent to track him down.

'_Don't say it like that! Aniki is just going to blame himself and do something reckless!_' the eldest Kurosaki daughter railed mentally.

Sure enough, Ichigo placed Karin gently on the ground, stood up, charged out and challenged the damn Hollow to take his Reiryoku if it could! Kirika felt like beating her head off a brick wall at his stupidity. If he survives this, she was going to kick his ass for making her worry so much!

The Fishbone-D roared as it elongated its neck to try and eat Ichigo. Kirika wanted to move but was held in place by Urahara's strong hand on her shoulder. Rukia didn't have anything holding her back, however, and interposed herself between Ichigo and the Hollow with a small _**Shunpo**_, raising her blade as she did so.

The Hollow bit into her solidly, the left side receiving more damage than the right. She still had her sword though, and the tip was inside the Fishbone-D's mouth. With a grunt of effort, she sliced through a portion of the Hollow Mask and sent the Negative Spirit staggering back roaring in pain.

Then she collapsed, her wounds bleeding profusely.

"Hey! Soul Reaper!" Ichigo called out.

It was rather satisfying to hear Rukia admonish Ichigo for being an idiot, as well as not seeing past what would happen after the Hollow devoured him, but Kirika planned on rehashing this conversation with him herself at a later date, so she ignored what the raven-haired Soul Reaper was saying until she dragged herself to sit against a pillar nearby.

"Do…you want to save your family?" she asked in a pain-filled voice.

"Of course I do." Ichigo replied.

"Well then…you must become…A Soul Reaper." Rukia lifted her sword, Sode no Shirayuki, and pointed it at Ichigo, "Thrust this Zanpakutō into your heart and I will pour my powers into you. The chances that this will work are slim. There is even the chance that you may die because of it, but there is no other way."

Ichigo stared at her before saying, "Gimme that sword, Soul Reaper."

Rukia grinned slightly. "My name is not 'Soul Reaper'. I am Kuchiki Rukia."

The Fishbone-D, now seriously pissed because it had been wounded, roared again and started to charge the two figures with murder in mind.

"Izzat so? I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." Kirika's idiotic brother said as he thrust the Soul Slayer Blade into his heart.

'_Aniki!_' Kirika screamed in her mind as a brilliant bluish-white light engulfed the pair of them, stopping the Negative Spirit in its tracks due tot the blinding quality of the light, then…

…the Hollow was suddenly short an arm. Standing before it was Kurosaki Ichigo, wearing a Soul Reaper's Shihakushō. Across his back was a ridiculously large sword sheath and in his hand was a bludgeoning monster of a Zanpakutō that Kirika had a hard time believing was a sword as opposed to say, an oversized kanabō.

'_Seriously Aniki. I knew you had bad control of your Reiryoku, but this is ridiculous!_' Kirika thought with a sweatdrop. She was so relieved that he was alright that it took a moment before she spotted Rukia sitting on the ground, completely disempowered.

'_He…he took _all_ of her powers?!_' was all she could think. She had read something about the little transference rite that Ichigo and Rukia had just undergone. The Soul Reaper was always in control of how much to transfer to the Human, so how the hell had Ichigo taken more than Rukia meant to give?

She watched as Ichigo cut the leg off of the Hollow and then switched to view Rukia's stunned, uncomprehending face as the new Substitute Soul Reaper neatly bisected the Hollow with one smooth cut of his oversized Daito.

"Time for us to move in once your brother goes back into his body and puts the girls to bed." Urahara muttered.

Nodding, Kirika watched as Ichigo returned to his body and carried the unconscious body of his sister into his home, while Rukia stared around in disbelief.

She leapt in fright as Urahara and Kirika appeared from seemingly nowhere in the place where Fishbone-D had been only minutes before.

"Well now, Kuchiki-san…" Urahara drawled, "…It looks like you might need some assistance, correct?"

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Next Chapter: Hollows, Horrors and Quincy**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**


	4. Hollows, Horrors and Quincy

**Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 4 here.**

**For those of you scratching your heads in puzzlement at the last chapter, putting 'no' in between two words doesn't always translate to 'of' or 'the' in Japanese, especially when the words 'Aniki' or 'Aneki' are involved.**

**I'm having a lot of fun coming up with Zanpakutō for Yoruichi and Tessai, and it just so happens that Yoruichi's blade gets her grand debut this chapter. Hope you like it.**

**Read, Review and check out my other stories!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

"Rukia" - Regular Speech

'_Ichigo_' - Thoughts

_*Kaien-dono*_ - Zanpakutō speech/thoughts

"_**Bankai!**_" - Spiritual Technique

**Chapter 4: Hollows, Horrors and Quincy**

_Urahara Shōten, Karakura Town_

Kirika was _pissed_.

She had followed Urahara around all night as he had erased Karin and Yuzu's memories, given Rukia a Gigai that he 'just so happened to have' and told her to come to him for any products she needed, and had even given her a Gokon Tekkō as a freebie.

"Who is that?" Rukia had asked Urahara about her earlier.

"Hmmm? Oh, she's an acquaintance of mine." Urahara had replied, hiding his lower face behind that stupid fan as he always did, "I was showing her around town when we felt the little scuffle by the clinic."

The highly sceptical face Rukia had had on her face had told Kirika that the former Inuzuri brat was just as smart as she had been forty years ago. Urahara's story stunk worse than rotting fish left out in the sun for a couple of days.

"And her name?" the petite ravenette had then asked sceptically.

"Kokken Asa." he had replied glibly.

Kokken….black dog…he was going to _pay_ for that.

Now that Rukia was leaving -finally! - Kirika could take this stupid mask off and then…ohhhh boy. Urahara was going to get his ass kicked for this. How dare he involve he brother in this?! How dare he force her to stand to one side when he was almost killed?!

"She's gonna kick you ass, Kisuke." Yoruichi opined as Rukia vanished into the streets of Karakura.

"Oh dear…" Urahara said, growing pale as Kirika removed her mask and shattered it to pieces with the strength of her grip.

"_**Uraaaaaharaaaa!**_" Kirika hissed angrily.

"Ah…now then Kirika-chan…let's not be hasty here…" the ex-Captain prevaricated nervously as Kirika drew her sword slowly and deliberately, the rasp of metal echoing in the silent shop.

"Oh man. Looks like we'll be getting a new boss tonight." Jinta stage-whispered to Ururu, who nodded silently in agreement.

Urahara pouted at them for that. "Hey! I _am_ a Captain-class Soul Reaper y'know!"

"Yeah, but pissed women beat that hands down." Jinta pointed out.

"You might have a point." Urahara said as he beat a hasty retreat into the underground training room, swiftly followed by Kirika.

"This ought to be amusing…" Yoruichi chuckled as she vanished in a _**Shunpo**_ to get down the ladder.

"_**Byakurai!**_" Kirika snarled, sending a blast of white lightning at the fleeing storeowner, passing between his legs frighteningly close to his family jewels.

"Yikes!" he yelped, "I need those!"

"Not once I'm through with you!" Kirika shouted, "How _dare _you get my brother involved in all this?! HOW DARE YOU!?"

"He is the crux of our plan!" Urahara retorted as he unsheathed his zanpakutō, "We need him!"

"He has no idea about the spirit world!" the redheaded girl snarled, "He knows jack shit about spiritual powers or even how to control his Reiatsu! It would take years to make him a credible threat! Hell, _I_ could kick his ass right now!"

Kirika flashed in and executed a one-handed thrust at Urahara that the man barely parried.

"He's a human; his capacity for growth is substantially more than ordinary Souls or you." Urahara said calmly, "As for whether you could beat him or not…you have little experience against a blade as big as his."

Kirika snarled again and snapped out a kick at the man, who grabbed it lazily with his free hand. Kirika surprised him by firing a _**Byakurai **_at him from her foot itself. His insane reflexes saved him damage, but his kimono was singed and he was forced to let her go.

"Tch. That monstrosity?" Kirika scoffed, "That thing is just an oversized Asauchi. I could cut it to pieces with Nejibana in a trice. _Any_ Soul Reaper could!"

The redhead charged in and locked blades with the man, steel scraping against steel. Kirika grinned, making Urahara wonder what her plan was.

"_**Hadō #11, **__**Tsuzuri Raiden! (Way of Destruction Number Eleven, Bound Lightning!)**_" Kirika hissed, sending lightning through her Zanpakutō and down Urahara's own blade. She had been practicing this one in secret after seeing Tessai demonstrate it once a couple of years ago and had only just managed it a week ago.

The blond man cursed and disengaged, but not before getting shocked.

"That wasn't very nice to your poor Zanpakutō." Urahara pointed out as he swapped hands and shook out his abused right hand.

"Nejibana will understand once I talk to her." Kirika replied as she glared at Urahara menacingly, "As for you, you should worry about yourself before anyone else."

Yoruichi sighed. Fun time was over. Time to stick her nose in.

"Kirika-chan, that's enough." she said as she transformed back to her human form, as naked as the day she was born.

"No it isn't!" Kirika snarled back at her favourite sensei, "You still haven't explained why, if he's a trump card of any sort, you haven't let me explain _anything_ to Aniki!"

"His Zanpakutō wouldn't have manifested for decades, if at all, before he died." the werecat replied, "The only way to speed things up is for a Soul Reaper to attempt a power transfer and give his power a template to create his own Zanpakutō with, kick starting his dormant powers."

"Dormant…you mean _Aniki's_ a Pureblood Soul Reaper?!" Kirika gaped at this revelation, "That explains so much about Goat Face being able to use _**Hakuda**_."

Yoruichi facepalmed. "I told that idiot to be more careful. Anyway, we needed Ichigo to release his Reiryoku like an out of control balloon because-"

"-You wanted to encourage his friends to become spiritually aware so you could use them as well." Kirika finished sourly, "I figured that much out myself. I don't like it, but I accepted that that much was permissible. My family, on the other hand, is not."

"He's our best chance of getting within striking distance of Aizen." Urahara said quietly, with a quiet confidence in what he said.

"Damn." Kirika cursed. She reluctantly sheathed Nejibana and scowled at the shopkeeper. "If my brother dies because of your stupid plan, you'd better have a will written, because you will be back in the Wheel of Reincarnation by my hand."

With that, she stomped off to her room.

"So how did it go?" the former Commander of the Onmitsukidō asked her friend.

"One Substitute Soul Reaper, up and running." Urahara replied seriously, "Kuchiki-san is a little more suspicious than I expected, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"Kirika meant what she said just now, you know." Yoruichi told him, "I really would have a will drawn up if I were you."

"She's at the overall level of a Sixth Seat, Yoruichi. I might have declined somewhat over the last hundred years, but I _am_ still a Captain-class Soul Reaper. She couldn't kill me in a month of Plutonian Sundays." Urahara replied with an airy wave of his hand.

"She has grown faster than we expected in the last decade." Tessai put in. He had been standing to the side quietly the entire time, to the point the two other Soul Reapers had forgotten he was there, "With her brother now possessing a Soul Reaper spiritual body, the amount of cross-contamination with their Reiryoku will increase during their time at school, especially if Ichigo-kun becomes agitated or overly emotional."

"Crap." Urahara had forgotten about that, "It also applies to Ichigo-kun himself from Kirika because it is easier to contaminate someone of the same race. His friends too. Who are the most likely to develop spiritual awareness and powers?"

"Inoue Orihime, Yasutora Sado and Arisawa Tatsuki." Yoruichi replied, "The three others -Kojima Mizuiro, Asano Keigo and Honshō Chizuru- are barely on the road to spiritual awareness."

"Crap." Urahara repeated. He had planned on two of them, not three, "Who do you think is more likely to awaken specific powers?"

"Sado and Orihime." Yoruichi replied, "Arisawa has slightly less Reiryoku than the other two possess for some reason. Unfortunately, that means she runs the risk of either Soul Suicide or Hollowfication unless someone uses the Soul Power Transference rite on her."

"Great. Another reason for Kirika to get pissed at me." Urahara groused, "How long until she reaches that point?"

"Assuming Ichigo and Kirika remains near her, about…a month and a half?" the werecat frowned as she thought about it, "Slightly longer if Ichigo is removed from the equation."

"Assuming the Soul Society hasn't changed much, they'll send someone to pick up Kuchiki-san in about a month's time." Urahara stated, "While both Kirika and Ichigo are invading the Seireitei, Arisawa-san's growth ought to slow down to a trickle. I can probably cobble together something to stabilise her powers in the interim, but once you bring the kids back, something will have to be done about her."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes." Yoruichi replied, "For now, let's concentrate on getting Ichigo on the right track to becoming a Soul Reaper."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_The Next Day_

_Ichigo's Classroom, Karakura Highschool_

Kurosaki Ichigo had just been through the weirdest twelve hours of his entire life, which was saying something for a Highschool student who could see and speak to ghosts.

First, he had been chased by a giant white-masked monster, only to be saved by a half-pint girl who barely came up to his shoulders. Then he had returned home, only for aforementioned midget to appear in his room and act as if he wasn't even there. He had then done what only felt natural; he had kicked her onto the floor, much to her shock.

The girl had turned out to be a 'Soul Reaper', a spirit charged with the duty of guiding 'Plus' Souls to the afterlife and slaying the 'Negative' Souls known as 'Hollows', the monster things that had chased him previously.

Then things had _really_ gone into the Twilight Zone when another damn Hollow had attacked his home and hurt his sisters. He was only thankful that Kirika hadn't been at home at that time, otherwise she would have done exactly what he had done; charged at the thing with the first weapon-like object that had come to hand, in his case a foldaway chair.

He had gotten taken down so easily it was pathetic.

Ichigo scowled as he sat down at his desk. The Soul Reaper had saved Karin, but he had gotten stupid and challenged the damn thing. With the information he had, it had seemed like the right thing to do. The Hollow had tracked him down to eat him, so he had thought that offering himself as a target would save his sisters.

Only the quick reflexes of the Soul Reaper had saved him and when she had scolded him, blood gushing from a deep wound she had received defending him, he had felt like the stupidest idiot on the planet. Of course the damn Hollow would eat his sisters after he was dead. They had above-average spiritual power, so the monstrous thing would eat them like desert to the main course that was him.

The badly wounded Soul Reaper had then offered him a chance to defeat the Hollow; giving him the powers of a Soul Reaper. She wasn't sure it would work. If it went _really_ badly, they could _both_ die.

A chance of victory, no matter how slim, was better than what he had had at that particular moment. Kuchiki Rukia had stabbed him in the chest with her sword and the next thing Ichigo knew, he had cut off the Hollow's arm and then proceeded to give an excellent reason not to piss off a Kurosaki; when a Kurosaki is angry, the subject of that anger very rarely survives.

Roll on this morning and Ichigo is woken up by his dumbass father trying to break his neck…again. To his absolute shock, his father and sisters recall nothing of monsters attacking their home. No, they only remembered a truck crashing into the house while they were asleep.

'_Was that something that the Soul Reaper…Rukia…did?_' Ichigo wondered absently. He didn't really care. Rukia saved his family, so if she wanted to erase their memories of the event, by all means. Yuzu would have had nightmares for months if she had kept those memories, so the orange-haired boy considered it yet another favour that the petite ravenette had done for his family.

"Aniki!" came from Kirika as she entered the classroom. Ichigo took in her anxious face and presumed she had heard the rumours that had been floating around the school about the whole 'truck-driving-into-the-Kurosaki-Clinic' incident all morning.

"Yo. Heard all the rumours I take it?" Ichigo asked.

"No." Kirika leaned in and whispered, "I felt something dark near home last night. What the heck happened?"

Ichigo wasn't really surprised by this. Kirika had been hypersensitive to possible threats to the family ever since their Kaa-san had died. The last time she had felt something off, it had been a gang about to ambush him and Chad. She had attacked them first and beaten the punks black and blue.

"I'll tell you at lunch." he told her, "But Yuzu and Karin are alright now. They don't even remember that something happened to them."

"Ara, Kurosaki-kun. To what might you be referring?" a familiar voice, twisted into a girlish tone, asked from behind him. Turning his head slightly, he caught the sight of one Kuchiki Rukia dressed in the grey uniform of Karakura High.

"Gah!?" he yelped in shock.

"Aniki?" Kirika asked in concern before turning to Rukia with a small frown, "Who are you?"

'_Shit. She's like Ichigo; her Reiryoku and Reiatsu are too high for the memory alteration Kidō to affect._' Rukia though with a curse. She had only barely recovered enough of her power to cast the minor spell this morning and having someone not be affected by it, other than Ichigo, hadn't been in the cards.

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia." she introduced herself, "And you are?"

"Kurosaki Kirika." the redhead replied shortly, "Aniki, you owe me that explanation at lunch. The teacher's gonna arrive any minute now. Bring the midget with you."

With that, Kirika walked over to her seat, studiously ignoring Rukia's death-glare at the poke at her height.

"Who is she?" the disempowered Soul Reaper asked Ichigo, taking the seat next to him.

"My other little sister." Ichigo replied.

"You don't look alike." Rukia frowned.

Ichigo eyed her before saying quietly, "Her family died in a car crash ten years ago. My parents knew them and adopted her. She's just as much a Kurosaki as I am."

"Oh." the ravenette felt like kicking herself for asking that, "Where was she last night?"

"She goes to live with her kendo sensei every three months or so." Ichigo replied with a slight smile on his face, "She's really good at it, won a Regional Championship recently."

Further conversation was stopped by the entry of the teacher, but Rukia was thinking as she reached out with her spiritual senses and felt the Reiryoku of the class of humans.

Most ranged between negligible to just before awakening the first level of spiritual awareness. Three were on the precipice of awakening the ability to see spirits, which was the second level. She couldn't get a clear read on the glasses wearing kid but his Reiryoku was well refined from what little she could feel of it.

The two with the strongest Reiryoku in the room were the Kurosaki siblings and Ichigo was far stronger than Kirika in terms of sheer power. His uncontrolled Reiryoku practically filled the room, pervading the room and those who sat in it, making sensing anyone else a tough task.

While Kirika was weaker than her brother, she was far stronger than any two or even three of the rest of her classmates put together. If Ichigo was a high-Fourth Seat in strength, Kirika was a borderline Sixth Seat. Her Reiryoku was also under far better control than her brother's was, but still leaked a small amount into the room.

'_This is bizarre. Ichigo's other two sisters -the ones to whom he is related to by blood- are nowhere near as strong as Kirika is._' Rukia thought as she scowled at her workbook in puzzlement, '_It is a bit much of a coincidence that his foster-sister is spiritually aware and while not as powerful as he is, strong enough that she can see spirits too. Could she be another Soul Reaper?_'

After considering this notion for a moment, she discarded it. She wouldn't have been sent to an area where a deserter lived without a suitable warning.

In an unrelated note, a white-haired man in the Soul Society sneezed guiltily.

_Lunchtime…_

"So, let me get this straight." Kirika said slowly. She, Rukia and Ichigo were in a quiet part of the school grounds so they could talk uninterrupted.

She jabbed one finger at Rukia. "_She_ is a Soul Reaper and she saved you from being a dumbass last night, as well as the lives of our family, from a Hollow."

Kirika then jabbed her finger at Ichigo. "And _Aniki_ here absorbed all of your powers last night, rather than the half you intended him to have. Now you are powerless until they return inside your Gigai and you want Aniki to be your replacement until that happens. Correct?"

"Pretty much."

"Indeed."

"OK. I believe you." Kirika said simply, making Ichigo faceplant at the ease of her acceptance.

"Why the hells are you so accepting of this?" he asked as he got back up.

"Because my ability to see and sense spirits has been at the level to see Hollows for years." Kirika replied with a shrug, "I've never attracted them but I have seen them and Soul Reapers around Karakura every now and again. In fact, a couple of days ago I felt someone fighting in _Karakura Honcho_."

"That was me." Rukia said with a nod.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ichigo pressed.

"You can be exceptionally dense sometimes." Kirika sighed, "Even though you can see ghosts, you refuse to believe in something unless you can see it up close and in person. As I didn't want either of us to be attacked by a Hollow or our memories erased by that stupid little memory eraser that Soul Reapers carry around with them, I decided to keep quiet."

"You mean a Kikanshinki?" Rukia asked and pulled out a box and showed her it.

"That would be it." Kirika nodded, "Now Kuchiki-san, there is a little business we have to sort out between ourselves."

"Oh?" Rukia asked warily, only to be surprised as Kirika bowed deeply to her.

"Thank you for protecting my family." Kirika said earnestly, "If you need anything from me, all you need to do is ask."

"I-It was nothing." Rukia flushed at the deep bow she was being given, "My job is to slay Hollows."

"Exactly." Kirika straightened up as she spoke, "You only needed to kill the Hollow, not risk your life and powers to save a family of spiritually aware humans. Aniki and I owe you a debt."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "I never did say thanks for what you did for us. Sorry for that and thanks."

Rukia flushed again. "I'm not deserving of your praise. Had I been stronger, I could have defeated that Fishbone-D without needing to risk your life to bestow my powers upon you."

Kirika frowned. "Speaking of the transference rite thing, is it common to do that?"

'_Shit._' Rukia thought. "Actually, no. As I explained, the risk of one or both participants dying is very high and thus is highly discouraged."

"So…it isn't against the law or anything?" the redhead pressed.

'_Damn and double damn._' was what Rukia thought even as she said, "Unfortunately it is, but if Ichigo kills the Hollows while I recover my power, no one will be any the wiser."

"Fair enough." Kirika nodded.

"Great. I have to fight those things again." Ichigo groused, "Why do I have to fight for strangers?"

"Because we owe Kuchiki-san a debt and, as much as I would love to help out, you're the one with her powers." Kirika replied bluntly.

"Jeez. Don't hold back, Kirika; tell us how you really feel." her brother said wryly.

"I always do." Kirika replied faux snootily before she grinned at her brother.

"Look on the bright side Aniki; you can live up to your name now."

"Strawberry?" Rukia asked in puzzlement.

"My name means 'First Guardian.'" Ichigo said with a twitch in his eyes, "Get it right, Midget."

"Who's a midget?!" Rukia retorted and kicked him in his shins.

Kirika watched with a small smile as the two started to bicker. Mission 'Get-Aniki-to-act-like-a-Soul-Reaper-without-a-fuss': completed.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_After School_

_Training Room, Urahara Shōten_

"Try again." Yoruichi directed Kirika.

The purple-haired women didn't look remotely tired, while the redhead was almost dripping sweat from her exertions.

"Why do you want me to learn _**Utsusemi (Cast-Off Cicada Shell)**_ anyway?" Kirika gasped, "You know I'm only average with _**Shunpo**_!"

"In the hopes that you trying hard to master it will make you improve on your basic _**Shunpo **_ability." the Shunshin replied easily, "I wouldn't ordinarily teach _**Onmitsu Shunpo Shihō no San (Way of the Onmitsu, 3**__**rd**__** of the Shihō)**_ techniques to anybody who hadn't at least mastered the regular _**Shunpo**_, but you learn better with a goal, so there you have it."

"I'd almost rather have to deal with Benihime again rather than this." Kirika grumbled, "_**Shunpo**_ is too hard."

"As I've told you before, you shouldn't try and control it so much." Yoruichi told her student, "The Reiryoku will flow to where you want it to go naturally. Forcing it stifles the flow and reduces the effectiveness of the technique."

"I'll try…for the hundredth time." Kirika sighed. She hated doing so badly in her favourite sensei's specialty.

Yoruichi drew her Zanpakutō (whose name Kirika still didn't know) again and stood ready. Kirika readied herself to attempt the difficult technique yet again. _**Utsusemi**_ _sounded_ simple to accomplish. Using _**Shunpo**_, Kirika was supposed to move at great speed, leaving an afterimage behind her that looked as if it took damage from the enemy attack before dispelling itself.

_Far_ easier said than done. Yoruichi could create _three_ afterimages at once because of her skill at _**Shunpo**_. Kirika could barely create an _outline_ of an afterimage, which was apparently a sign that she could eventually master the technique…once she actually managed to move faster than a non-seated Soul Reaper held down by a Bakudō.

"Three….two…one….now!" Yoruichi said as she drew her blade back and thrust it at Kirika, who vanished in a blur, leaving behind a hazy blur that looked like a paper cutout of herself. It was about the same size and shape of Kirika, but would only fool a blind man without the ability to sense Reiatsu.

"Not bad." Yoruichi allowed as the incomplete _**Utsusemi**_ faded to nothing, "You are improving, but for now you should rest."

"Arigato, sensei." Kirika answered from behind her. The girl walked over to a nearby boulder and sat back against it with a tired sigh. She had been practicing the Utsusemi for almost the entire time she had set foot back in the Shōten and she was exhausted.

"So, are you still pissed with us?" the werecat asked as she sheathed her kodachi-sized Zanpakutō and joined her student.

"No." Kirika sighed, "I don't like it, but Aizen is someone who has to be defeated. If even half the stuff you've told me about him is true, then normal measures won't be enough. Hell, I doubt I can do much more than irritate him as I am right now."

"It's good you have a firm grasp of your limits, but don't put yourself down too much." Yoruichi told her firmly, "Most Soul Reapers never approach the amount of Reiryoku you possess, nor do most Soul Reapers gain the skill with the Zankensoki (Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō and Kidō) that you possess."

"It isn't my power though." Kirika brooded, "I only obtained this power thanks to being lucky enough to have a Water or Flowing Water-type Zanpakutō. For all I know, it's Kaien-shi's Soul Reaper powers."

"Kaien didn't have those bandoliers that you have, so I kinda doubt it." Yoruichi pointed out, "Now then, I think we've rested enough. We'll move on to _**Zanjutsu**_ practice…_**Shikai**_ vs. _**Shikai**_."

"You're actually going to use your _**Shikai**_?" Kirika perked up at that, "Why?"

"Because mine isn't as…bloodthirsty…as Benihime, so it is safer for you to practice against." the werecat replied as she stood up and drew her blade, "Watch."

The purple-haired woman flipped her sword into a lazy spin before catching the blade in her right hand, between her index and middle fingers as she said, "_**Kizu ya kizu…**__**Manekineko! (Scratch and Wound…Beckoning Cat!)**_"

In a burst of white light, the blade changed shape into a golden gauntlet that reached to Yoruichi's elbow. The fingers of the gauntlet had claws at the end and the palm had the paw print of a cat engraved in it.

"That's your _**Shikai**_?" Kirika asked.

"Yep." Yoruichi replied as she flexed her gauntlet-covered hand experimentally, "Manekineko here is glad to be released for the first time in a hundred years. Better release your sword as well, Kirika-chan, otherwise this will be a short spar."

"Got it." the redhead stood up, stretched and drew her sword. "_**Surge through the Seas and Roil the Darkened Heavens, Nejibana!**_"

The trident-like weapon appeared in a whirl of light and with a surge of water surrounding the two ends of the weapon.

"That Kaigo is different than the one I remember Kaien using." Yoruichi commented.

"Nejibana told me the same thing last night." Kirika shrugged, "Considering I'm in a unique situation, it isn't like there's an instruction manual for all the changes that have happened to the both of us."

"True." the werecat acknowledged, "Well now…let's begin. I'll restrict myself to the strength and speed of a Fourth Seat, the same as Kisuke did. Last as long as you can against me."

"Great." Kirika muttered as she spun Nejibana into what she referred to as the Neji no Kamae (Stance of the Screw), a one handed stance which allowed her to build up the centrifugal force to land a solid first blow against her opponent.

Nejibana had told her that the amount of water she released for each strike of her _**Shikai**_ was a determined by a combination of Kirika's experience with wielding Nejibana and the number of rotations she added before each strike.

The first strike allowed her to strike powerfully and release a considerable amount of water to smash into her target, which usually resulted in the target blocking her, allowing the attack pattern known as _**Shōtotsu-ha no Totsugeki (Charge of Colliding Waves)**_, an unrelenting attack whereby Kirika crushed the enemy between the strikes of Nejibana and the ice-cold water waves released as a result of those strikes.

Moving quickly, Kirika leapt forwards and executed a vertical slice at Yoruichi in order to feel out the woman's fighting style.

The werecat grinned slightly and blocked the trident-like weapon with Manekineko, the impact cracking the ground beneath the woman and the strength behind the blow was absorbed unflinchingly by Yoruichi and transmitted to the ground.

'_Not a bad attack._' the woman thought as she held the three pointed blades away from her body, '_Nejibana really is a powerful Zanpakutō, and Kirika-chan is learning how to use her very quickly. Now then…time to counterattack!_'

With a heave, the werecat threw off Nejibana to one side and was about to strike at Kirika when her student one-handedly spun the long weapon around and launched a horizontal strike at the cat woman.

"Whoa!" Yoruichi fell back from the strike, as well as the follow-on attack that cut her cheek, as well as soaking her to the bone from the water.

"Aren't you going to attack, Yoruichi-sensei?" Kirika called before she launched another attack that the Shihōin Princess.

"Heh. Looks like I'm a bit rusty with my _**Shikai**_." Yoruichi chuckled as she flashed away from Kirika with a _**Shunpo**_, "Time to get my act together."

She slammed the palm of her gauntlet onto the ground. "_**Manekineko: Ashiato! (Beckoning Cat: Paw Print!)**_"

A large red cat's paw print appeared on the ground where she touched it.

"A paw print?" Kirika asked with a raised eyebrow, "Interesting. Let's see what it can do."

Spinning Nejibana around, Kirika attempted to strike at Yoruichi, but just before she would have struck her sensei, the paw print glowed brightly and dragged her weapon to the paw print.

"What the-?" she squawked as she tried in vain to lift her weapon from the mark.

"That's the power of my Manekineko; control over repulsion and attraction." Yoruichi grinned, "Now…"

The purple-haired woman touched the mark with one armoured finger and said, "_**Manekineko: Handō! (Beckoning Cat: Backlash!)**_" before leaping away.

With a crimson flash, Kirika and Nejibana were hurtled away from the mark and through a boulder that just so happened to get in the way.

"OK, Ow." Kirika thanked her lucky stars that Soul Reapers had very tough bodies as she got up out of the rubble, "Attraction and repulsion. Gravity? Magnetic fields? Whatever. That hurt like a bitch!"

As she picked up her Zanpakutō, Yoruichi flashed in right in front of her and hit her lightly with her armoured hand's palm, a grin on her face that made Kirika sigh in defeat.

"Oh crap."

"Indeed. _**Manekineko: Gekitai! (Beckoning Cat: Repulse!)**_"

With a flash of crimson, Kirika was flung back yet again, this time crashing into the training room's wall, Nejibana slipping from her hands yet again. A moment later, the razor-sharp claws of Manekineko were laid at the stunned girl's throat.

"An important lesson, my student." Yoruichi said softly, "Never let go of your weapon or lower your guard in the middle of a fight. Either of these can be fatal, _especially_ when facing an opponent of the Onmitsukidō. Understood?"

"…Ow. Yes, sensei." Kirika wheezed as she recovered from the blow, "Lesson received and understood…painfully. What the heck is your Zanpakutō anyway?"

"A Melee/Kidō type." the werecat replied as she removed the bladed claws and returned her Zanpakutō to its Fūingata state, "It uses gravity control Kidō to either attract or repulse the last person I've touched. Not a terribly effective weapon for an assassin, unless I use the fourth technique, _**Jishōnochiheimen (Event Horizon)**_, but that technique is far too imprecise and hard to set up for an assassin to use."

"What does it do?" Kirika asked curiously, as she resealed her own blade, and then winced at the beating she had received.

"Easy there." Yoruichi began using Kaidō on Kirika before continuing, "_**Jishōnochiheimen**_ happens after I create a circle of six _**Ashiato**_. It crushes anything and anyone within the circle, as well as drawing in anyone -even me- who gets too close to it. It was the last technique I learned before achieving Bankai."

"What happens when you learn Bankai?" Kirika asked, "Nejibana told me _how _a Soul Reaper achieves Bankai, but not what it is."

"Ah." Yoruichi nodded, "Well, one thing that is universal is that your Reiryoku and Reiatsu increase dramatically. A Captain-class Soul Reaper can take the blade of any unseated Soul Reaper without a scratch, while the attacker would be injured by the difference in their Reiryoku. The greater the disparity, the more damage the attacker receives."

"Wow…but the last one applies to all Soul Reapers though." Kirika pointed out.

"True." the werecat acknowledged, "No, the other thing about most Bankai is that they are massive. Bankai are greatly enhanced versions of a Zanpakutō's Shikai and are usually massive constructs of some sort. It usually takes a decade to learn and control your Bankai, but Kisuke managed it in three days thanks to one of his inventions."

"Benihime's Bankai…Brrr!" Kirika shivered. That sword was scary enough in just its Shikai form. Kirika really didn't want to face the Bankai version.

"Yeah…I fought against Kisuke's Bankai once and vowed to never do so again." Yoruichi echoed her student's shiver, "I came close to dying in that spar more times than I ever did in the Onmitsukidō."

"Right…never fight against Urahara-san's Bankai." Kirika nodded.

"You pick things up quick." the woman chuckled, "There is one universal rule about combat with Zanpakutō. No Shikai can _ever_ defeat a Bankai, period. To try is to fail, so either run or fight without using your Zanpakutō if you are faced with a Captain-class opponent who uses their Bankai."

"Not surrender?" Kirika asked for clarification.

"If a Captain has used the Final Release, it is a declaration that they are fighting you seriously and will do their utmost to defeat you." Yoruichi replied, "It is more than likely that surrender wouldn't be allowed."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

_One Month Later_

_Minamikawase Area, Karakura Town_

Wearing another black mask and her cloak, Kirika stood next to Urahara as they watched Kuchiki Rukia flee the Kurosaki Clinic.

"She is an idiot." Kirika grumbled in the distorted voice that her mask gave her. When Urahara had created another mask for her, he had altered it so Kirika could speak, but, being Urahara, he couldn't resist a joke, which was why Kirika sounded like Darth Vader right now.

"Maa, she's trying to be considerate." Urahara replied as they began to carefully follow her from a distance, "After everything that has happened this month, it's hardly a surprise."

Kirika snorted softly. Yes, this month had been quite the set of surprises for both herself, Rukia and Ichigo.

Aside from slaying generic Hollows, several incidents had cropped up that had tested her brother. The first was the Hollow Acidwire, who had been the spirit of Inoue Orihime's brother Sora, forcibly converted into a Hollow.

Following the usual instincts of Hollows, Acidwire had gone after his only remaining relative, Orihime, to eat her soul. Before that, he had saved her from being run over by a truck. He had then attacked Ichigo in his bedroom.

This had been a big test for Ichigo, as her brother hadn't realised that all Hollows were formerly either human souls or Plus Souls. When he had used his monster of a blade to attack Acidwire, he had cleaved off part of the Hollow's mask and had recognised the human face hidden beneath it.

He had been conflicted about fighting Acidwire after that…until he had heard that Orihime would be the true target of Acidwire as his closest living relative. That had set off his 'Hero Complex' and Ichigo had charged off to Orihime's apartment, arriving just in time to stop Acidwire from killing Tatsuki, who the Hollow had born a grudge against as Orihime's best friend.

Ichigo's stupidly large blade was very blunt because of his righteous anger at a brother trying to kill his own sister. Orihime had been displaced from her body by Acidwire and then a battle ensued between the two. Acidwire was a long and serpentine Hollow, resembling a Naga from Indian mythology, and had the ability to spit mildly corrosive acid, as well as use his tail as a club.

At length, Sora had regained control of himself, ripped the rest of his mask off and had used Ichigo's Zanpakutō to purify himself, going to the Soul Society in peace at last. She suspected, and Urahara agreed with her, that Ichigo cutting off some of Sora's Hollow mask had helped Acidwire to regain some of his humanity, allowing him to act rationally rather than on his jealous instincts.

She had been somewhat amused the next day to hear what Rukia's Kikanshinki had placed inside Orihime's memories in place of the actual events, something about Sumo Wrestlers.

The next incident had involved yet another one of her brother's friends, Chad. He had found a parakeet and had been cursed with bad luck ever since, to the point that a steel girder had dropped on top of him.

It turned out that the parakeet contained the Soul of a boy called Yūichi Shibata, who had been placed inside the parakeet by the Hollow nicknamed 'Shrieker' and he had been told that if he stayed with one human for three months, Shrieker would bring his mother back to life.

Chad had lasted the longest, so Shrieker decided to kill him up close and personal after school one day. Both she, concealed nearby, and Rukia watched with mouths agape as the Mexican boy faced Shrieker, something he couldn't see, with an extremely calm attitude and his fists. He actually smashed the Hollow a couple of times, twice with his fists and once with a telephone pole he picked up, though he relied on Rukia to guide him to his target.

He had lasted long enough for Ichigo to come to the rescue. Kirika's older brother had been even more furious with Shrieker than he had been with Acidwire and had ripped the Hollow's tongue off to prevent him from using the leech bombs that he could fire off.

In life, Shrieker had been a serial killer and had murdered several people, including Yūichi's mother. The kid had been smart though and had tied the man's laces together, making him fall to his death from the balcony of their house.

The entire deal he had given Yūichi was bogus of course, which was why Ichigo was so angry at the Hollow. Ichigo had loved his mother a lot and seeing someone abuse the love a son had for his mother was like a red flag to a bull for him.

Ichigo defeated Shrieker, cutting his entire head in half, cleansing him of the sins he had committed as a Hollow…but not as a Human. The Gates of Hell appeared, two massive purple doors with a pair of skeletons mounted upon them. When they opened, the Gatekeeper of Hell, laughing demonically, had impaled the Hollow on a sword and drawn him into Hell, whereupon the door closed and disappeared.

Urahara had informed her that the gatekeeper was a 'Kushanāda', one of the Guardians of Hell that punish and hunt sinners, known as the Togabito, for their crimes committed while alive.

One aspect that had been unexpected during the whole incident was Karin being able to perceive the presence of Yūichi within the parakeet. This meant she could likely see the forms of Soul Reapers and Hollows, so Kirika made a mental note to keep a closer eye on her.

Sadly, Yūichi's body was dead and he couldn't return to it. The only thing to do was send him to the Soul Society via a Konsō (Soul Burial). Kirika was moved by how elegantly her brother executed the Konsō on the boy.

The idiocy of Jinta was to blame for the next incident. Rukia used the 5000 Kan bounty on Shrieker to purchase a tube of Gikongan (Artificial Soul Pills) for Ichigo, but ended up with a Kaizō Konpaku (Mod Soul) instead! Jinta had grabbed the first box that said 'Kon' (Soul) rather than reading it properly.

Mod Souls were illegal creations made to animate the corpses of humans in order to fight Hollows. The creator, according to Urahara, was imprisoned inside the Maggot's Nest for his work on Project Spearhead. All the Mod Souls were supposed to have been destroyed, so it must have been pure bad luck to have an entire case of them in Urahara's shop!

After suitably punishing Jinta, the Urahara Shōten crew went to retrieve the Mod Soul, which was running wild in Ichigo's body at school, kissing girls! She was lucky enough to have left the room before that happened, but anyway, to make a long story short, Kon, as Ichigo called the Mod Soul, was now in a stuffed lion plushie and acts as Ichigo's way of getting out of his body when Rukia isn't there. Kon does what he's told, or he will suffer the 'Bostov' treatment from Yuzu…tea parties and frilly dresses galore.

Hehehehe.

The second-worst incident was the revelation of the identity of the Hollow who killed their mother. The Hollow known as Grand Fisher, with his ability to use a lure-like appendage to draw victims close to him so he can devour them, attacked Ichigo when they were visiting Kurosaki Masaki's grave.

Of all the things Kirika had seen in her life, being unable to aid her brother against the thrice-accursed Hollow that killed their mother was one of the hardest things to watch. Seeing Rukia's face twisted in agony as she watched as well was also hard, but for a different reason.

She knew what Rukia had been thinking; she was standing by and watching someone who greatly resembled her old Lieutenant fight a Hollow in a scarily similar situation to how Kaien had died. That kind of agony wasn't something that the adopted member of the Kuchiki Clan could forget easily, if at all.

Fortunately, for all concerned, Ichigo badly wounded Grand Fisher and sent him scurrying off with his tail between his legs. Rukia had looked so relieved when Ichigo was victorious. The Onmitsukidō member who had helped out hopefully kept his mouth shut.

The most recent incident had been that stupid Quincy Ishida's doing. He had challenged Ichigo to a match, practically strong-arming him into a 'How-many-Hollows-can-we-kill' contest by using Hollow bait to draw a slew of Hollows to Karakura Town.

Kirika had helped out her brother, killing those that he or Ishida couldn't get to in time. Things were getting to the point of overwhelming when a Gillian-class Menos Grande appeared, the skyscraper-sized Hollow devouring lesser Hollows like a starving man.

While Ichigo eventually defeated it, the sudden retreat of a Menos-class Hollow from the World of the Living would draw attention from the Soul Society, which was why she and Urahara were out here at two o'clock in the morning watching Rukia flee from Karakura in a futile attempt to distance herself from Ichigo so he wouldn't be killed.

"A Senkaimon has just opened." Urahara drew her mind out of its thought process, "Odd…it feels like a Captain and a Lieutenant, both under Gentei Fūin (Limiting Seal). This just got a whole lot more serious."

Kirika nodded before she stiffened. "Aniki's on the move. He must have discovered Rukia's note."

"Better get into position then." Urahara sighed, "This isn't going to be pretty."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Next Chapter: Kirika-sensei**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**


End file.
